Libyan Revolutionary Forces Celebrate Gains as Fierce Fighting Rages in Gadhafi's Hometown
The battle for Sirte in 2011 was the last major fight of Libya's revolution. It ended with Muammar Gadhafi's death, and left a city in ruins and a country without a plan.
By September 2011, the forces of Libya's National Transitional Council had taken Tripoli, and Muammar Gadhafi was on the run. Two loyalist strongholds held out: Bani Walid in the desert and Sirte, Gadhafi's coastal hometown, which he had turned into a showcase city with conference halls and villas.
The siege
The fight for Sirte lasted weeks. Revolutionary brigades, many of them from Misrata, advanced street by street against loyalist troops dug into the city. Heavy artillery and NATO air strikes pounded the defenders. Each advance brought celebrations among the fighters, only for fierce fighting to resume a few blocks away. Civilians fled in large numbers, and those who stayed endured shortages of water, food and medical care.
The end of Gadhafi
On 20 October 2011, a convoy trying to escape the city was struck by NATO aircraft. Gadhafi was found hiding nearby, captured by revolutionary fighters and killed shortly afterwards in chaotic circumstances captured on mobile phone videos. Three days later the transitional council declared Libya liberated.
The aftermath
Sirte was left devastated, and questions about the treatment of prisoners and the killing of Gadhafi drew criticism from human rights groups. The victory did not produce a unified state. Libya fragmented among rival militias and governments. In 2015 the Islamic State seized Sirte, which was retaken in 2016 only after months more fighting.
A decade and a half on, the battle for Sirte is remembered as both the end of Gadhafi's rule and a preview of the disorder that followed.