In early 2011, amid a wave of popular protest in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, largely peaceful demonstrations against entrenched regimes brought quick transfers of power in Egypt and Tunisia. In Libya, however, an uprising against the four-decade rule of Muammar al-Qaddafi led to civil war and international military intervention. In this special feature, Britannica provides a guide to recent events in Libya and explores the historical and geographic context of the conflict.
On February 15, 2011, antigovernment rallies were held in Banghāzī by protesters angered by the arrest of a human rights lawyer, Fethi Tarbel. The protesters called for Qaddafi to step down and for the release of political prisoners. Libyan security forces used water cannons and rubber bullets against the crowds, resulting in a number of injuries. To counter the demonstrations further, a pro-government rally orchestrated by the Libyan authorities was broadcast on state television.
As the protests intensified, with demonstrators taking control of Banghāzī and unrest spreading to Tripoli, the Libyan government began using lethal force against demonstrators. Security forces and squads of mercenaries fired live ammunition into crowds of demonstrators. Demonstrators also were attacked with tanks and artillery and from the air with warplanes and helicopter gunships. The regime restricted communications, blocking the Internet and interrupting telephone service throughout the country. On February 21 one of Qaddafi’s sons, Sayf al-Islam, gave a defiant address on state television, blaming outside agitators for the unrest and saying that further demonstrations could lead to civil war in the country. He vowed that the regime would fight “to the last bullet.”
The government’s sudden escalation of violence against protesters and other civilians drew international condemnation from foreign leaders and human rights organizations. It also seemed to damage the coherence of the regime, causing a number of high-level officials—including the minister of justice and a number of senior Libyan diplomats, including the Libyan ambassador to the United Nations—to resign in protest or issue statements condemning the regime. A number of Libyan embassies around the world began to fly Libya’s pre-Qaddafi flag, signaling support for the uprising. Support for Qaddafi also seemed to waver in some segments of the military; as the Libyan air force carried out attacks against demonstrators, two Libyan fighter pilots flew their jets to Malta, choosing to defect rather than obey orders to bomb Banghāzī.
On February 22 Qaddafi delivered an angry, rambling speech on state television, condemning the protesters as traitors and calling on his supporters to fight them. The speech took place in the Bāb al-ʿAzīziyyah compound, Qaddafi’s primary headquarters in Tripoli, in front of a building that still showed extensive damage from a 1986 air strike by the United States. He resisted calls to step down and vowed to remain in Libya. Although he denied having used force against protesters, he repeatedly vowed to use violence to remain in power.
Clashes continued, and Qaddafi’s hold on power weakened as Libyan military units increasingly sided with the opposition against the regime. As demonstrators acquired weapons from government arms depots and joined forces with defected military units, the anti-Qaddafi movement began to take the form of an armed rebellion. The newly armed rebel forces were able to expel most pro-Qaddafi troops from the eastern portion of Libya, including the city of Banghāzī, and many western cities by February 23. The Libyan-Egyptian border was opened, allowing foreign journalists into the country for the first time since the conflict began. Pro-Qaddafi paramilitary units continued to hold the city of Tripoli, where Qaddafi and members of his family and inner circle remained.
As Qaddafi massed his forces in the Tripoli area to hold off the rebels there, his public statements seemed to indicate that he was becoming increasingly isolated and desperate. Speaking by telephone on Libyan state television on February 24, Qaddafi once again lashed out at protesters, saying that the young people at the core of the protest movement were acting under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs and that the demonstrations were being controlled by al-Qaeda.
Foreign leaders continued to condemn the violence. However, international efforts to intervene or pressure the regime to end the bloodshed were complicated by the presence of many foreign nationals in Libya still waiting to be evacuated.
The regime continued its efforts to hold the capital, launching attacks around Tripoli, some of which were repelled by rebel forces. On February 25 pro-Qaddafi gunmen in Tripoli attacked unarmed protesters and others as they emerged from mosques after Friday prayers.
International pressure for Qaddafi to step down increased as violence continued and foreign nationals were evacuated. The UN Security Council unanimously approved a measure that included exacting sanctions against the Qaddafi regime, imposing a travel ban and an arms embargo, and freezing the Qaddafi family’s assets. The measure also referred the situation in Libya to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The United States, the European Union (EU), and a number of other countries also imposed sanctions. On February 28 the United States announced that it had frozen at least $30 billion in Libyan assets.
Amid continuing skirmishes as rebel forces strengthened their positions outside Tripoli, Qaddafi invited a number of Western journalists to the city in an attempt to demonstrate that the situation remained under control in the capital. In interviews he continued to blame al-Qaeda and hallucinogenic drugs for the uprising. He claimed that Western leaders who had called for him to step down had done so out of a desire to colonize Libya, and he insisted that he was still well loved by Libyans.
A rebel leadership council, formed by the merger of local rebel groups, appeared in Banghāzī in early March. Known as the Transitional National Council (TNC), it declared that its aims would be to act as the rebellion’s military leadership and as the representative of the Libyan opposition, provide services in rebel-held areas, and guide the country’s transition to democratic government.
Conditions in Libya worsened as the armed struggle continued, and thousands of people, mostly migrant workers from Egypt and Tunisia, fled toward the borders. Governments and humanitarian organizations began to organize efforts to address worsening shortages of food, fuel, and medical supplies throughout the country.
After the rebels succeeded in taking control of eastern Libya and a number of cities in the west, the conflict appeared to enter a stalemate. The Qaddafi regime still controlled enough soldiers and weapons to hold Tripoli and to stage fresh assaults, which rebel fighters, although poorly equipped, were largely able to repel. Most fighting took place in the towns around Tripoli and in the central coastal region, where rebels and Qaddafi loyalists battled for control of the oil-export terminals on the Gulf of Sidra.
As the fighting continued, forces loyal to Qaddafi seemed to gain momentum, launching successful assaults to retake control in strategic areas around Tripoli and on the coast of the Gulf of Sidra. Attacking with fighter jets, tanks, and artillery, pro-Qaddafi forces had by March 10 driven rebel forces from Al-Zāwiyah, west of Tripoli, and from the oil-export centre of Ras Lanuf. Those gains highlighted the Qaddafi loyalists’ advantages in weaponry, training, and organization.
As Qaddafi appeared to gain the upper hand, the international community continued to debate possible diplomatic and military responses to the rapidly developing conflict. Countries worked to establish contact with the TNC, although only France granted it official recognition, announcing on March 10 that it would treat the council as Libya’s legitimate government. International condemnation of the Qaddafi regime continued to build, and, at an emergency summit on March 11, the EU unanimously called for Qaddafi to step down. However, the international community remained divided over the possibility of military intervention—most likely by imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, a measure long requested by the rebels to prevent Qaddafi loyalists from launching air attacks. Some countries, including France and the United Kingdom, signaled their support for such an operation, while others, including the United States and Germany, expressed their reservations, emphasizing the need for broad international consensus and warning against possible unforeseen consequences of military intervention. The African Union (AU) rejected any military intervention in Libya, asserting that the crisis should be resolved through negotiations, whereas the Arab League passed a resolution on March 13 calling on the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.
On March 15 Qaddafi loyalists launched a heavy assault on the eastern city of Ajdābiyā, the last large rebel-held city on the route to Banghāzī. On March 17, as Qaddafi loyalists advanced on the remaining rebel positions in Banghāzī and Tobruk in the east and Miṣrātah in the west, the UN Security Council voted 10–0—with abstentions from Russia, China, Germany, India, and Brazil—to authorize military action, including imposition of a no-fly zone to protect Libyan civilians. The Qaddafi regime responded by declaring an immediate cease-fire, although there were reports that pro-Qaddafi forces continued to launch attacks after the announcement and that heavy fighting continued in Banghāzī.
Beginning March 19, a coalition of U.S. and European forces with warplanes and cruise missiles attacked targets in Libya in an effort to disable Libya’s air force and air defense systems so that the UN-authorized no-fly zone could be imposed. Coalition missiles struck buildings in a compound used by Qaddafi as a command centre, and in eastern Libya warplanes attacked a pro-Qaddafi armoured column positioned outside Banghāzī. Emboldened by the air strikes, rebel forces once again launched an offensive to challenge pro-Qaddafi forces’ hold on the oil centres on the coast. Qaddafi denounced the coalition attacks as an act of aggression against Libya and vowed to continue fighting international forces and the rebels.
Coalition spokesmen announced on March 23 that the Libyan air force had been completely disabled by coalition air strikes. However, heavy fighting continued on the ground. Pro-Qaddafi units massed around the rebel-held city of Miṣrātah in the west and the contested city of Ajdābiyā in the east, shelling both heavily and causing significant civilian casualties. Attacks by coalition warplanes soon weakened pro-Qaddafi ground forces in eastern Libya, allowing rebels to advance west again.
On March 27 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officially took command of military operations previously directed by the United States, France, and the United Kingdom in Libya. The handover came after several days of debate between NATO countries over the limits of international military intervention; several countries had argued that the coalition’s aggressive targeting of pro-Qaddafi ground forces had exceeded the mandate set by the UN Security Council to protect civilians.
On March 30 Libyan foreign minister Moussa Koussa defected, fleeing to the United Kingdom. The defection of Koussa, a former head of Libyan intelligence and a longtime member of Qaddafi’s inner circle, was interpreted as a sign that support for Qaddafi among senior Libyan officials was beginning to wane.
As the fighting progressed, it began to appear that, even with NATO attacks on pro-Qaddafi forces, the Libyan rebels—a poorly armed and disorganized force with little military training—would be unable to oust Qaddafi or achieve decisive successes against Qaddafi’s professional troops. Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis intensified, with an AU delegation traveling to Tripoli on April 10 to present a cease-fire plan to Qaddafi. AU representatives announced that Qaddafi had accepted the plan, although pro-Qaddafi forces continued to launch attacks on April 11. The plan was rejected by the rebel leaders on the grounds that it did not provide for Qaddafi’s departure from Libya.
As the stalemate continued, the United Kingdom announced on April 19 that it would send a team of military liaison officers to Libya to advise rebel leaders on military strategy, organization, and logistics. The next day France and Italy announced that they would also send advisers. All three countries specified that their officers would not participate in fighting. The Libyan foreign minister condemned the decision to send military advisers, saying that such aid to the rebels would only prolong the conflict.
NATO attacks continued and targeted a number of sites associated with Qaddafi and members of his inner circle, such as the Bāb al-ʿAzīziyyah compound in Tripoli, drawing protests from Libyan officials who charged that NATO had adopted a strategy of trying to kill Qaddafi. His son Sayf al-Arab and three of Qaddafi’s grandchildren were killed in a NATO air strike in April. In June the ICC issued arrest warrants for Qaddafi, his son Sayf al-Islam, and the Libyan intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi, for ordering attacks against civilians during the uprising. Some observers expressed concern that the ICC’s proceedings against Qaddafi would discourage him from relinquishing power voluntarily. In spite of pressure from NATO attacks, rebel advances in the eastern and western regions of Libya, and the Qaddafi regime’s international isolation, Qaddafi continued to hold power in Tripoli.
After months of stalemate, the balance of power once again shifted in the rebels’ favour. In August 2011 rebel forces advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli, taking control of strategic areas, including the city of Zāwiyah, the site of one of Libya’s largest oil refineries. Rebels soon advanced into Tripoli, establishing control over some areas of the capital on August 22. As rebel fighters battled pro-Qaddafi forces for control of Tripoli, Qaddafi’s whereabouts were unknown. The next day rebel forces appeared to gain the upper hand, capturing the Bāb al-ʿAzīziyyah compound, Qaddafi’s headquarters. Rebels raised Libya’s pre-Qaddafi flag over the compound as jubilant crowds destroyed symbols of Qaddafi. Fighting between rebels and loyalists continued in a few areas of Tripoli.
By early September rebel forces had solidified their control of Tripoli, and the TNC began to transfer its operations to the capital. Qaddafi, effectively forced from power, remained in hiding, occasionally issuing defiant audio messages. Rebel forces focused their attention on the few remaining cities under loyalist control, attempting to use negotiations to persuade loyalist commanders to surrender peacefully and avoid a bloody ground assault. When negotiations failed, rebel troops began to push into the cities of Surt and Banī Walīd, engaging in heavy fighting with loyalists. The TNC achieved new international legitimacy on September 15 when the UN General Assembly voted to recognize it as the representative of the Libyan people in the UN. On October 20 Qaddafi was discovered and killed by rebel fighters in his hometown, Surt, as they fought to solidify their control of the city.
The TNC struggled to establish a functional government and exert its authority in the months that followed the fall of the Qaddafi regime. Local rebel militias that had fought autonomously during the uprising, especially those in western Libya, were reluctant to submit to an interim government formed in eastern Libya with little input from the rest of the country and were suspicious of some TNC officials’ past ties to the Qaddafi regime. The militias refused to disarm, and skirmishes between rival militias over territory were common.
Libya facts and figures
|Official Name:||The Libyan Republic|
|Area:||686,127 square miles (1,777,060 square km)|
|Population (2010 est.):||6,546,000|
|Age Breakdown (2009):||Under age 15, 33.0%; 15–29, 28.6%; 30–44, 21.9%; 45–59, 10.1%; 60–74, 4.7%; 75 and over, 1.7%|
|Form of Government:||Interim government led by Transitional National Council|
|Other Major Cities:||Banghāzī, Miṣrātah|
|Religious Affiliation (2000):||Muslim, 96.1%, of which nearly all are Sunni; Orthodox Christian, 1.9%; Roman Catholic, 0.8%; other, 1.2%|
|Unemployment Rate (2004):||30%|
|Literacy Rate (2007):||Total population age 15 and older, 88.1%; males, 93.0%; females, 83.1%|
Additional information on Libya can be found in the following articles:
Time lines of events
Key events in Libya, 1951–2011
- With the backing of the United Nations, Libya declares its independence, uniting Libya’s three provinces under a constitutional monarchy. Sīdī Muḥammad Idrīs al-Mahdī al-Sanūsī, the head of the Sanūsiyyah religious order and a British ally in World War II, becomes king, reigning as Idris I. Under the country’s federal system, tribal elites and provincial leaders wield considerable power, while the central state remains weak.
- Financially dependent on the West, the Libyan government concludes an agreement allowing Britain to establish a military base in Libya in exchange for aid. A similar agreement is signed with the United States in 1954.
- Significant oil reserves are discovered in Libya. Between 1959 and 1969, booming oil revenues transform Libyan society, increasing urbanization and magnifying economic inequality. Arab nationalism and anti-imperialism, exemplified by the policies of Egyptian Pres. Gamal Abdel Nasser, become increasingly popular in Libya, especially among the disaffected youth.
- Led by Muammar al-Qaddafi, then a 27-year-old captain, a group of junior military officers from primarily middle-class backgrounds seize power in Libya while King Idris I receives medical treatment in Turkey. Following the coup, the country is governed by a Revolutionary Command Council, with Qaddafi gradually emerging as the dominant figure.
- At the request of the Libyan government, British and American military forces are evacuated from their bases in Libya. The Libyan government initiates the nationalization of the country’s oil industry.
- Qaddafi announces a major reorganization of Libyan society based on his Third Universal Theory, a political system incorporating elements of direct democracy, socialism, and nationalism, conceived by Qaddafi as an alternative to capitalism and communism. In accordance with his view that the Libyan people should exercise the power to govern directly rather than through elected representatives and the bureaucratic institutions of the state, thousands of government bureaucrats are fired and replaced by popular committees.
- Beginning in 1977 with the publication of the second volume of The Green Book, which lays out Qaddafi’s economic philosophy, the Qaddafi government institutes a variety of policies that restrict private ownership and commerce in Libya. Between 1978 and 1981, housing, businesses, and real estate are nationalized or confiscated and redistributed.
- Citing Libya’s support for a number of radical militant groups, the U.S. designates Libya a state sponsor of terrorism and imposes economic sanctions. The U.S. expands sanctions several times as the confrontation between the two countries intensifies in the 1980s.
- A bombing in a West Berlin nightclub frequented by U.S. soldiers is attributed to Libya. Days later the U.S. launches air strikes on Tripoli and Banghāzī.
- With the Libyan economy faltering because of sanctions and dropping oil prices, the Qaddafi government begins to relax some restrictions on private ownership.
- Libya refuses to comply with a UN Security Council resolution requiring that it turn over suspects in the Pan Am flight 103 investigation. Libya’s refusal leads to greater international sanctions, passed by the UN in 1992 and 1993.
- The UN Security Council passes a resolution offering to suspend sanctions if Libya cooperates with the investigation of the Pan Am flight 103 bombing.
- Libya turns over the Pan Am flight 103 suspects to stand trial in the Netherlands, paving the way for improved relations with the international community. The UN immediately suspends its sanctions against Libya, and official contact between Libya and the U.S. takes place for the first time in 18 years.
- Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer turned over to stand trial for the Pan Am flight 103 bombing, is convicted.
- Libya takes a number of steps toward economic and diplomatic re-engagement with the international community. In March the Libyan General People’s Congress passes economic reform measures aimed at opening the country to foreign investment. In August Libya agrees to pay $2.7 billion in compensation to the families of the victims of the Pan Am flight 103 attack. In May Libyan officials initiate secret negotiations with U.S. and British officials to dismantle Libya’s nuclear and chemical weapons programs. Libya agrees to abandon its weapons-of-mass-destruction programs in December.
- Megrahi, diagnosed with terminal cancer, receives a compassionate release from prison in Scotland on the grounds that he is expected to survive only a few months. Upon returning to Libya, Megrahi receives a hero’s welcome, upsetting U.S. officials and infuriating the families of the Pan Am flight 103 victims. He will remain alive significantly longer than expected, raising questions regarding the accuracy of the diagnosis used to justify his release.
Revolt and aftermath in Libya, 2011–12
- February 15, 2011
- Protests erupt in Banghāzī after a human rights activist is arrested. Libyan security forces and Qaddafi loyalists attack the crowds, killing or injuring dozens of people over several days.
- February 20, 2011
- As demonstrations appear in other parts of the country and the international media begin to receive reports of indiscriminate killing of protesters by security forces, Sayf al-Islam appears on state television. He claims that the protests are part of a foreign plot, and he vows that the regime will fight “to the last bullet” but also promises new dialogue about reform.
- February 21, 2011
- Amid reports that Libyan military jets and helicopters have been used to attack protesters, two Libyan fighter pilots defect, flying their jets to Malta to avoid carrying out orders to bomb sites in Libya. A number of high-level Libyan officials and diplomats also defect.
- February 22, 2011
- Qaddafi gives an angry speech on state television, condemning the protesters as traitors and agents of al-Qaeda. The opposition appears to have taken control of Banghāzī.
- February 23, 2011
- Rebels appear to have expelled pro-Qaddafi forces from most of eastern Libya and some cities in the western region.
- February 26, 2011
- The UN Security Council approves a measure that includes sanctions against the Qaddafi regime.
- February 27, 2011
- Arming themselves with weapons taken from abandoned military and police bases and depots, rebel forces move west, taking control of several cities in the Tripoli area, including Al-Zāwiyah, only 30 miles from the capital.
- March 3, 2011
- The International Criminal Court announces that it will open an investigation into possible crimes against humanity by the Qaddafi regime.
- March 5, 2011
- A group of rebel leaders calling itself the Transitional National Council (TNC) issues a statement declaring itself the sole representative of Libya.
- March 10, 2011
- As the EU prepares to discuss possible military intervention in Libya, pro-Qaddafi forces seem to gain momentum, driving the rebels out of Al-Zāwiyah and strategic areas around the Gulf of Sidra.
- March 11, 2011
- The EU unanimously calls on Qaddafi to step down. However, the international community remains divided over the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone to prevent pro-Qaddafi forces from using military aircraft to attack the rebels.
- March 17, 2011
- As pro-Qaddafi forces advance toward Banghāzī, retaking several rebel-held cities, the UN Security Council votes to authorize military intervention to protect Libyan civilians.
- March 19, 2011
- U.S. and European forces launch air attacks in an effort to disable Libyan air defenses. In eastern Libya coalition warplanes attack pro-Qaddafi ground forces outside Banghāzī.
- March 27, 2011
- After days of negotiation, an agreement is reached that allows NATO to take over full command of military intervention operations in Libya.
- March 30, 2011
- In the highest-profile defection since the early days of the revolt, Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister, flees to the United Kingdom.
- April 10, 2011
- An African Union (AU) delegation travels to Tripoli to present a plan for a cease-fire to Qaddafi. He reportedly accepts the plan. However, it is rejected the next day by rebel leaders, who object that it does not provide for Qaddafi’s removal from power and transfer out of Libya.
- April 19, 2011
- The United Kingdom announces that it will send military officers to advise the rebel leadership. France and Italy announce the next day that they will also send military advisers. All three countries specify that their officers will advise the rebels on military organization, communication, and logistics and that they will not participate in fighting. The announcements come amid reports that the disorganized and underequipped rebels, seemingly locked in a stalemate with Qaddafi’s troops, lack the military capability to win a decisive victory without foreign help.
- April 30, 2011
- A NATO air strike targets a house in Qaddafi’s Bāb al-ʿAzīziyyah compound in Tripoli, killing Qaddafi’s son Sayf al-Arab and three of Qaddafi’s grandchildren. Qaddafi, reportedly in the targeted house at the time of the attack, escapes uninjured. NATO denies claims that it has adopted a policy of seeking to kill Qaddafi.
- May 3, 2011
- The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, calls for Qaddafi to step down immediately. For the first two months of the conflict, Turkey had sought to maintain ties with both Qaddafi and the rebels in hopes of brokering an agreement.
- May 4, 2011
- Pro-Qaddafi forces fire on an aid ship delivering humanitarian supplies and evacuating civilians from the port city of Miṣrātah, which has been under siege by pro-Qaddafi forces for several weeks. NATO forces report that pro-Qaddafi forces have also placed antiship mines in Miṣrātah’s harbour to limit the flow of foreign aid into the city.
- May 5, 2011
- At a meeting in Rome, representatives of NATO countries and Arab countries agree to set up a temporary fund to deliver financial aid to the TNC. Several Arab countries pledge hundreds of millions of dollars to the rebel council, which estimates that it requires between $2 billion and $3 billion to continue operating.
- May 15, 2011
- Representatives of the TNC announce that rebel forces have established full control over the city of Miṣrātah, a rebel stronghold in western Libya and the site of some of the conflict’s most intense fighting. Since March, forces loyal to Qaddafi had surrounded and shelled the city, killing and injuring hundreds of civilians.
- May 16, 2011
- The ICC announces that it will seek arrest warrants against Qaddafi, his son Sayf al-Islam, and the Libyan intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi, for ordering attacks on civilians during the uprising.
- May 30, 2011
- South African Pres. Jacob Zuma meets with Qaddafi in Tripoli to discuss the conflict. Following the talks, Zuma announces that Qaddafi is prepared to accept a cease-fire proposed by the AU in April. The TNC dismisses the announcement, since the AU cease-fire, which does not call for Qaddafi to leave power, had already been rejected by NATO and the TNC.
- June 1, 2011
- A UN commission tasked with investigating human rights abuses in Libya finds that forces loyal to Qaddafi committed war crimes severe enough to constitute crimes against humanity. The commission also finds evidence of war crimes by rebel forces, although it says that these violations appear to be less severe and less widespread.
- June 27, 2011
- The ICC issues arrest warrants for Qaddafi, his son Sayf al-Islam, and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi.
- June 29, 2011
- France admits that it shipped light arms and ammunition to the rebels in June, becoming the first NATO country to publicly acknowledge providing weapons to the rebels.
- July 15, 2011
- The United States formally recognizes the TNC as the legitimate governing authority in Libya. The recognition paves the way for the TNC to access $30 billion in frozen Libyan assets being held in the United States.
- July 16, 2011
- U.S. diplomats meet with Qaddafi representatives in Tunisia for the first time to discuss the conflict. U.S. officials state that they used the meeting to reiterate the United States’ demand that Qaddafi step down immediately and that there was no negotiation between the two sides.
- July 28, 2011
- Gen. Abdul Fattah Younes, the rebel military commander, is killed under mysterious circumstances while being detained by rebel forces. Younes, a former Qaddafi security chief who defected to the rebels in February 2011, was reportedly being transported to Banghāzī to be investigated by the TNC on charges of treason.
- August 19, 2011
- Rebel fighters take control of most of the city of Zāwiyah, on the outskirts of Tripoli.
- August 20, 2011
- Rebel forces encircle Tripoli, clashing with Qaddafi loyalists.
- August 22, 2011
- Rebel forces take control of some areas of Tripoli in heavy fighting. Qaddafi’s whereabouts remain unknown, however, and his supporters continue to resist rebel forces. With fighting under way in Tripoli, TNC leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil makes a public address anticipating the fall of the Qaddafi regime.
- August 23, 2011
- Rebel forces gain the upper hand in Tripoli, establishing control over most of the city and capturing the Bāb al-ʿAzīziyyah compound, Qaddafi’s headquarters in the capital. Rebels raise Libya’s pre-Qaddafi flag over the compound as jubilant crowds destroy symbols of Qaddafi. As fighting between rebels and loyalists continues in a few areas of Tripoli, Qaddafi’s whereabouts remain unknown.
- August 25, 2011
- In an audio statement broadcast on Libyan radio, Qaddafi urges Libyans to resist the rebels. The rebels, still fighting pockets of resistance in Tripoli, offer a reward of $1.7 million for anyone who captures or kills Qaddafi. The TNC also vows to grant full amnesty to members of Qaddafi’s inner circle in return for killing or capturing him.
- August 26, 2011
- The TNC announces that it will begin the process of transferring its base of operations from Banghāzī to Tripoli. Meanwhile, representatives of the TNC, citing urgent funding shortages, call on foreign governments and the UN to release billions of dollars in frozen Libyan assets.
- West of Tripoli, NATO jets strike targets in Surt, one of the last remaining centres of support for Qaddafi, as rebel fighters prepare to launch a ground assault on the city.
- August 29, 2011
- Qaddafi’s wife and several of his children flee to Algeria. Qaddafi and four of his sons remain in hiding.
- August 30, 2011
- Rebel leaders issue an ultimatum to loyalist forces, giving them until September 3 to surrender Surt and other cities under their control or face a military assault.
- September 10, 2011
- As rebels advance on the Qaddafi strongholds of Banī Walīd and Surt, TNC leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil arrives in Tripoli for the first time since the fall of the capital to rebel forces.
- September 16, 2011
- The UN General Assembly votes to recognize the TNC as the representative of the Libyan people in the UN. Meanwhile, the Security Council votes to lift some of the sanctions imposed on Libya while Qaddafi was in power.
- October 20, 2011
- Qaddafi is killed by rebel forces in Surt as they take control of the city after several weeks of fighting. Amateur videos appear to show that Qaddafi was captured alive by rebels but that he was fatally shot soon afterward. TNC leaders deny that Qaddafi was executed by rebels after his capture.
- October 23, 2011
- Mustafa Abdul Jalil declares national liberation in an address in Banghāzī. In Miṣrātah crowds gather to view the bodies of Qaddafi and his son Muʿatassim, also killed on October 20.
- October 24, 2011
- Under pressure from human rights groups, Mustafa Abdul Jalil promises an investigation into the circumstances of Qaddafi’s death. Reports that some rebel fighters executed pro-Qaddafi prisoners emerge.
- October 27, 2011
- The UN Security Council votes to end international military operations in Libya on October 31.
- October 31, 2011
- The TNC votes to appoint Abdel Rahim al-Keeb, an engineer from western Libya and a longtime critic of the Qaddafi regime, as interim prime minister.
- November 19, 2011
- Sayf al-Islam Qaddafi is captured near the town of Sabhā in southwestern Libya as he tries to flee to Niger. TNC officials state that he will receive a fair trial in Libya and will not be handed over to face war crimes charges at the ICC.
- December 16, 2011
- The UN Security Council and the United States lift sanctions placed on Libya’s central bank during the uprising.
- December 25, 2011
- TNC officials announce a plan to integrate fighters from regional rebel militias into Libya’s national armed forces. The militias, which control territory throughout the country and frequently skirmish with rival militias, are seen as a security problem and an obstacle to the establishment of an effective central government. Many militias in western Libya have refused to disarm and remain skeptical of the TNC, which they see as partial to eastern Libya and too closely linked to the Qaddafi regime.
- January 4, 2012
- After several members of rival militias are killed in a gun battle in downtown Tripoli, Jalil says that by refusing to disarm, militia groups risk pushing Libya toward civil war.
- January 22, 2012
- The deputy head of the TNC resigns the day after protesters angered by the slow pace of improvement in Libya forced their way into the TNC’s local headquarters in Banghāzī.
- January 28, 2012
- The TNC approves a new election law calling for constituent assembly elections to be held in June 2012.
- March 2, 2012
- A UN report says that rebel militias have committed violations of human rights by arbitrarily detaining, torturing, and killing people they perceived as Qaddafi supporters.
- March 17, 2012
- Abdullah Senussi, Qaddafi’s intelligence chief, is arrested in Mauritania. Mauritania delays the extradition to Libya of Senussi, who also faces ICC charges for crimes against humanity, expressing concerns that he might not be given a fair trial there.
- May 20, 2012
- Convicted Pan Am flight 103 bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi dies in Tripoli.
- July 7, 2012
- Libyans vote in elections for a new 200-seat assembly that will appoint a new prime minister and draft a constitution.
- July 17, 2012
- Official results show that the National Forces Alliance, a secular party led by Mahmoud Jibril, the former interim prime minister and TNC official, has won the largest number of seats in the new assembly.
- September 11, 2012
- Members of an Islamist militant group stage a surprise attack on the U.S. consulate in Banghāzī. The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, is killed in the attack, along with three other Americans.
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Libya: Revolt in 2011In February 2011, in the midst of a wave of popular demonstrations in the Middle East and North Africa, antigovernment rallies were held in Benghazi by protesters angered by the arrest of a human rights lawyer, Fethi Tarbel. Libyan security forces used…
United States: The Arab Spring, intervention in Libya, and the killing of Osama bin Laden…rebelling against his rule (
seeLibya Revolt of 2011), a coalition of U.S. and European forces sought to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe by intervening militarily with warplanes and cruise missiles. On March 27, as the conflict continued, the United States handed over the primary leadership of the effort to the…
human rights: Human rights in the United NationsAdditionally, during the Libya Revolt of 2011, a civil war fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi and those seeking to oust his government, the Security Council authorized UN member states to establish and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya and to use “all necessary measures” to…
Barack Obama: Upheaval in the Middle EastIn Libya, where the political revolt against the four-decade rule of Muammar al-Qaddafi transformed effectively into a civil war (
seeLibya Revolt of 2011), however, Obama felt U.S. intervention was necessary to prevent a humanitarian disaster as Qaddafi employed his overwhelming military advantage in a brutal…
David Cameron: The Conservative–Liberal Democratic coalition government…event in the region, the revolt in Libya, particularly captured the attention of Cameron, who became an outspoken critic of ruler Muammar al-Qaddafi’s brutal repression of the rebels in Libya. Cameron’s calls for military intervention in that country and especially for the imposition of a no-fly zone to protect Libyan…
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