The Battle of Ben Guerdane occurred on March 7, 2016, in the city of

Ben Gardane Ben Gardane or Bengardane ( or , '; ) is a coastal town in south eastern Tunisia, close to the border with Libya. It is located at around . History During the Second World War Ben Gardane Airfield was used by the 57th Fighter Group, which flew P ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

on the border with

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. Islamic State forces attempted to seize the city, but were repulsed by the Tunisian military. The clashes continued also on 8 and 9 March in the area.

The attack

Armed groups of militants from the Islamic State in Libya and Ansar al-Sharia began the attack on the town by grouping around and seizing the local mosque. The mosque loudspeakers were used to broadcast a message and a signal for the attack on government facilities. The Tunisian National Guard, military barracks, and police posts were simultaneously ambushed, in an attempt to take over Ben Guerdane and establish an "emirate" within Tunisia. The fighting continued between the attackers and Tunisian military and police reinforcements, until clashes ended in mid-morning, and continued pursuit operations in the vicinity lasted the rest of the day.

Casualties

The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of National Defense put the death toll at 55 armed militants, 13 security forces members and seven civilians.

Reactions

* :

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

condemned “in the strongest terms” the terrorist attack. In a statement, the council considered that “any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.” It also “underlined the need to bring perpetrators... of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice,” reaffirming “the need for all States to combat” this scourge by all means.

External links

Bibliography

* ''Epopee of Ben Guerdane: Secrets and Mysteries of the Battle of March 2016'', Editions Sotumedias, Tunis, 2020 .

References

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...