Ancient watch tower near Yefren - panoramio

Yafran (), also spelled ''Jefren'', ''Yefren'', ''Yifran'', ''Yifrin'' or ''Ifrane'', is a city in northwestern

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 ...

, in the Jabal al Gharbi District in the western Nafusa Mountains. Before 2007, Yafran was the administrative seat of the

Yafran District Yafran or Yifren() is one of the districts of Libya (''baladiyat''). It is located in the northwest part of the country and its capital is Yafran. Between the 2007 reorganization of districts and the 2013 reorganization, most of its territory wa ...

History

Libyan civil war

Yafran people, as in other cities of Libya, have demonstrated against

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

. Subsequently, Yafran was exposed to bombardment and siege by Gaddafi forces. As of May 2011, Gaddafi's forces had shut down the water system and blocked food supplies and held the western part of the town with some 500 rebels in the eastern section of Yafran still resisting. Yafran fell to Gaddafi's forces sometime in late May or early June. The centre of the town was used as a position for "government tanks, artillery guns and snipers". On 2 June, rebel forces retook the city center and started to clear the area of Gaddafi's forces. On 6 June, an on-site

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

journalist reported that the pro-Gaddafi forces were nowhere to be seen in or around the town.Al Jazeera, Libya Live Blog, June 6
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Jewish community

Yafran had a deep-rooted

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

history dating back to antiquity. According to chronicler Mordehai HaCohen (1856–1929), a local tradition holds that the Jewish community there originated after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, when generals under

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

allegedly sold 30,000 Jewish captives to

Bedouins The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

in Yafran. The local Jewish population flourished under Ottoman rule. During the Italian occupation of Libya in 1910–1922, they suffered persecution by the local Arab population; some of them fled to Tripoli. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Jews from

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

were brought to labor camps in Yafran; some Jews were later deported to the Giado concentration camp. After the Tripolitania riots in 1945, most of the Jewish population moved to Tripoli and eventually emigrated to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in the 1950s.

Climate

Yafran has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''BSh'') with hot, dry summers and cool, somewhat rainy winters.

Notes

External links