The siege of Derna was a military campaign by 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 ...

(LNA) to capture the city of Derna, which began after the end of the Derna campaign (2014–16). After besieging the city for 21 months, the LNA assaulted the city on 7 May 2018, beginning the 2018–2019 battle of Derna and ultimately capturing the city on 12 February 2019. The siege itself was criticized by the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya as a

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

, as well as by the

Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord (GNA; ) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. The agreement was unanimously endors ...

Timeline

The siege began in August 2016. In August 2017–after militants of the

Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna The Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna () was a coalition of Islamist militias that advocated the implementation of Sharia law within Derna, Libya. Besides seeking to implement strict social mores in Derna, the alliance was known for its open ...

executed Air Colonel Adel Jehani, whose plane was shot down by the group–the head of the Omar Mukhtar Operations Room tasked with taking Derna, Brigadier Salem Rifadi, declared a total blockade of Derna. He was quoted as saying that no food, medicine, cooking gas, petrol or anything else would be allowed in. By September 2017, Marshal

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 ...

was being accused of war crimes in the siege of Derna. It was alleged that Haftar had been complicit in calling for extrajudicial killings, arguing that Haftar had called on LNA fighters to take no prisoners, and saying in a speech: "Never mind consideration of bringing a prisoner here. There is no prison here. The field is the field, end of the story". In October 2017, an airstrike hit Derna, killing at least 15 civilians, including women and children, and wounding 17 or more. In December 2017,

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

member Mohamed Fathi Al-Jamayel was executed by the Shura Council after a failed attempt to kill senior member Moaz Tashani. On 7 May 2018, the LNA launched an offensive on Derna, and by February 2019 had taken the city, thereby also ending the siege.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Military operations of the Libyan civil war (2014–2020) History of Derna, Libya 2010s sieges Sieges involving Libya Battles in 2016 Battles in 2017 Battles in 2018 Battles in 2019

Timeline

See also

References