Battle of Ajdabiya 2011
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Date | 17 March 2011 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 2011 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Libya | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Libyan Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 30.8008, 18.0864 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Ajdabiya was an armed battle in and near the city of Ajdabiya that took place as part of the Libyan Civil War. It was fought between anti-government rebels and military forces loyal to the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Following the Second Battle of Brega, in which pro-Gaddafi forces captured the town, Ajdabiya was the only major rebel-held city left en route to the rebel capital of Benghazi. The battle for Ajdabiya had been cited as a potential turning point in the conflict on which the fate of the whole rebellion may be decided. On 26 March 2011, Libyan rebels, backed by extensive allied air raids, seized control of the frontline oil town of Ajdabiya from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces. During the first phase of the battle, pro-Gaddafi forces seized the strategic road junction leading to Benghazi and Tobruk, and captured most of the city. The city centre remained in rebel hands but was surrounded by pro-government forces and cut off from outside assistance. After the second phase, anti-Gaddafi forces recaptured the road junction and cleared loyalist forces from the city, sending them retreating down the Libyan Coastal Highway towards Sirte.
U.S. and European air units had been under the control of the Joint Task Force established for Operation Odyssey Dawn until control was transferred to the NATO Military Command Structure.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Ajdabiya (revision 1374514977), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Libyan Civil War
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- Battle of Misrata (2011) 2011
- Battle of Ras Lanuf 2011
- Battle of Sirte (2011) 2011
- Battle of Tripoli (2011) 2011
- First Battle of Benghazi 2011
- First Battle of Brega 2011
- First Battle of Zawiya 2011
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All 22 battles of the Libyan Civil War →
Browse more: battles in Libya · Africa · Post-1945 battles