View source for Raid on Ghadames

{{Short description|Series of attacks on Ghadames, Libya in 2011}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Raid on Ghadames
| partof = [[2011 Libyan Civil War|Libyan Civil War]]
| image = 
| caption = 
| date = 24–26 September 2011
| place = [[Ghadames]], [[Libya]]
| result = Indecisive
* Pro-Gaddafi forces filter across border from Algeria and attack NTC positions in the city
* Anti-Gaddafi forces drive off attackers
| combatant1 = '''{{flagicon|Libya|2011}} [[Anti-Gaddafi forces]]'''
* [[National Liberation Army (Libya)|National Liberation Army]]
| combatant2 = '''{{flagicon|Libyan Arab Jamahiriya}} [[Politics of Libya#Members of the Gaddafi regime|Gaddafi Loyalists]]'''
* [[Military of Libya#Paramilitary forces|Paramilitary forces]]
* Elements of the [[Khamis Brigade]]
* Algerian mercenaries<ref>[https://www.kp.ru/online/news/984301/ Сторонникам Каддафи не удалось захватить Гадамес]</ref>
| commander1 = 
| commander2 = 
| strength1 = 400 fighters<ref name="oasis attack">{{cite news |url=http://www.timesofoman.com/innercat.asp?cat=&detail=50088&sec=news |title=Kadhafi forces kill five in oasis attack: witnesses |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |work=Times of Oman |date=25 September 2011 |access-date=4 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929120837/http://www.timesofoman.com/innercat.asp?cat=&detail=50088&sec=news |archive-date=29 September 2011 }}</ref>
| strength2 = 100 fighters<ref name="oasis attack"/>
| casualties1 = 9–11 killed{{#tag:ref|6-8 killed on 24 September,<ref name="border"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15051023 |title=Libya's NTC troops renew assault on pro-Gaddafi Sirte |work=[[BBC News]] |date=25 September 2011 |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref> 3 killed on 26 September,<ref name="continues"/> total of 9-11 reported killed.}}<br>75 wounded<ref name="border"/><ref name="continues"/>
| casualties2 = Unknown
| notes = 
}}
{{Campaignbox Libyan civil war}}

The '''raid on Ghadames''' was a series of [[Hit-and-run tactics|hit-and-run]] attacks carried out between 24 and 26 September 2011 by groups of [[pro-Gaddafi forces]], allegedly including elements of the [[Khamis Brigade]],<ref name="border">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna44659377 |title=Gadhafi loyalists launch attack across Algeria border |work=[[NBC News]] |date=25 September 2011 |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E7KP0EN20110925 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928015024/http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E7KP0EN20110925 |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 September 2011 |title=Libyan NTC says repulsed pro-Gaddafi attack in south |agency=[[Reuters]]|work=Reuters Africa |date=25 September 2011 |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref> against the [[National Transitional Council]]-administered desert oasis town of [[Ghadames]], [[Libya]], during the [[2011 Libyan Civil War|Libyan Civil War]].

== Background ==
Ghadames, an oasis town with a population of around 10,000,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/flash/flash-25431.html |title=Libya (Overview) |agency=[[Der Spiegel]]|access-date=8 October 2011}}</ref> lies surrounded by desert in a corner of western Libya, bordering both Algeria and Tunisia. The city is home to [[Ghadames#Old Town of Ghadames|one]] of five [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]s in Libya.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/ly |title=Libya |publisher= UNESCO World Heritage Centre |date= 25 September 2011 |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref> Throughout much of the conflict, Ghadames remained isolated and cut off from communications. As such, news from the town was scant and control of the town was not easy to discern. Some reports said that Ghadames remained "under siege" by loyalists for months;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/24/libya-forgotten-south |title=Libya: what about the south? |work=[[The Guardian]] |first=Alex|last=Warren |date=24 August 2011 |access-date=8 October 2011}}</ref> however, when anti-Gaddafi forces retook the town in late August, these reports were shown to be outdated.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-aug-31-2011-1924 |title=Wed, 31 Aug 2011, 17:24 GMT+3 - Libya |work=[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]] |date=31 August 2011 |access-date=8 October 2011}}</ref> After the war, ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'' reported that rebels had indeed staged an uprising in the town, but that a loyalist [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] militia suppressed it at some point.<ref>{{cite news|title=New Old Libya|last=Draper|first=Robert|date=February 2013|publisher=National Geographic|pages=46}}</ref>

== Raid ==
After apparently filtering across the Libya-Algeria border in cars for several days, loyalist forces launched an attack on NTC forces in the city of Ghadames on 24 September.<ref name="border"/> The raid began at around 5:30 AM as group of around 100 loyalists, allegedly including mercenaries from Algeria and groups of [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]],<ref name="oasis attack"/> entered the city and began attacking NTC positions. Local pro-Gaddafi sleeper cells were also reported by local officials to have joined in on the raid.<ref name="oasis attack"/> Anti-Gaddafi forces lost 6-8 fighters and suffered more than 60 wounded before driving loyalists back into the desert.<ref name="border"/> Sporadic shelling of the town by loyalists continued after the raid, and anti-Gaddafi forces continued to engage in clashes with loyalists as they pursued them out of the town.<ref name="oasis attack"/>

By the next day, the town was once again clear, but NTC forces had increased security, setting up new checkpoints and posting snipers at key locations. Colonel Ahmed Bani, an NTC spokesman, said that he expected that loyalists would continue to try to use the vast desert area outside of Ghadames as a base of operations, but that anti-Gaddafi forces had secured the area and would not allow another attack.<ref name="border"/> During the night, another series of clashes erupted which continued into the morning of 26 September, leaving another three rebels dead and a dozen wounded.<ref name="continues">{{cite news|url=http://bikyamasr.com/43482/fighting-continues-on-algeria-libya-border/ |title=Fighting continues on Algeria-Libya border |work=Bikyamasr |last=Terry |first=Jonathan |date=26 September 2011 |access-date=4 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011043938/http://bikyamasr.com/43482/fighting-continues-on-algeria-libya-border/ |archive-date=11 October 2011 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Libyan civil war}}
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[[Category:Battles of the Libyan civil war (2011)|Ghadames]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 2011]]
[[Category:September 2011 events in Libya]]
[[Category:Battles in 2011]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghadames}}