Sidra or Sidr () is a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

about 23 km west of Ra's Lanuf in

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 ...

. It is Libya's largest oil depot, shipping about , and during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

gave its name to the 'Gulf of Sidra', an alternative name for the

Gulf of Sirte The Gulf of Sidra (), also known as the Gulf of Sirte (), is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or the city of Sirte. It was also historically known as the Great Sirte or G ...

. Sidra Airport is located directly next to the port.

History

This oil port increased in importance as Libya's economy developed in the last quarter of the 20th century.

Libyan Civil War

During the Libyan Civil War, the

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council (NTC) was a transitional government established in the 2011 Libyan civil war. After rebel forces overthrew the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011, the NTC governed Libya for a further ...

forces captured the port of Sidra at the beginning of March 2011. Pro- Gaddafi forces tried to retake the port some days later.

Second Libyan Civil War

During the

Second Libyan Civil War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's Libyan branch launched an attempt to seize the port in January 2016. At least one oil storage tank was set ablaze after being hit by a long-range rocket. In June 2018, militiamen led by Ibrahim Jadhran seized the port from the

Libyan National Army The Libyan National Army (LNA; , ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii''), also known as the Libyan Arab Army (LAA; , ''al-Jaysh al-'Arabiyy al-Lībii'') or the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF; ), is a component of Libyan Armed Forces, Libya's mil ...

. The LNA recaptured the port on 21 June. In January 2020, the National Oil Corporation declared force majuere over oil loadings at the port after a blockade was imposed by tribes affiliated with the

Khalifa Haftar Khalifa Haftar (; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA). In 2015, he was appointed commander of the armed forces loyal to the 2014 Libyan parliam ...

. In July 2020, the National Oil Corporation reported that

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

Janjaweed The Janjaweed () are an Sudanese Arabs, Arab nomad militia group operating in the Sahel, Sahel region, specifically in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and eastern Chad. They have also been speculated to be active in Yemen. According to the United ...

and Syrian mercenaries were present at the port.

External links

Location of vessels in the port of Sidra

References

Port cities and towns in Libya Populated places in Sirte District Gulf of Sidra Populated coastal places in Libya Tripolitania Ports and harbors of Libya {{Libya-geo-stub