Fezzan campaign

Fezzan campaign
Part of Libyan Civil War
Date 17 July – 27 September 2011 Location Fezzan, Libya Result Anti-Gaddafi victory Anti-Gaddafi forces capture and hold Qatrun from 17–23 July Pro-Gaddafi forces push back rebels from Qatrun to the south Anti-Gaddafi forces capture Murzuk on 17 August Anti-Gaddafi forces attacked and captured the Wadi al Shatii District mid-September Anti-Gaddafi forces capture Sabha on 22 September Anti-Gaddafi forces capture the Ghat and Jufra districts in late September
Belligerents
National Transitional Council National Liberation Army Toubou tribesmen	Gaddafi Loyalists Libyan Armed Forces Paramilitary forces
Commanders and leaders
Barka Wardougou	Ali Khana Massoud Abdelhafid Belgacem Al-Abaaj (POW)
Casualties and losses
28 killed, 44 wounded	51 killed

Anti-Gaddafi victory

National Transitional Council

Gaddafi Loyalists

The Fezzan campaign was a military campaign conducted by the National Liberation Army to take control of southwestern Libya during the Libyan Civil War. During April to June 2011, anti-Gaddafi forces gained control of most of the eastern part of the southern desert region (i.e. the southern part of Cyrenaica) during the Cyrenaican desert campaign. In July, Qatrun changed to anti-Gaddafi control on 17 July and back to pro-Gaddafi control on 23 July. In late August, anti- and pro-Gaddafi forces struggled for control of Sabha.

Before the war, parts of southern Libya were known for being almost lawless, and travel was often restricted in some areas due to the presence of bands of militants and bandits (often filtering across the border from Algeria) roaming the desert between towns. Clashes between Islamic militants linked to Al-Qaeda and Libyan security forces occurred several times near the town of Ghat in the years leading up to the conflict. Further south, near the border with Chad, the terrain is made hazardous by landmines in the desert left over from the Chadian-Libyan conflict, which lasted from 1978 to 1987. The far south also lacks paved roads and functioning mobile phone services, making communication difficult even in peacetime.

...
Wikipedia