The Battle of Sirte was the final and most decisive battle of the First Libyan Civil War, beginning when the National Liberation Army attacked the last remnants of the Libyan army still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown and designated capital of Sirte, on the Gulf of Sidra. As of September 2011, Sirte and Bani Walid were the last strongholds of Gaddafi loyalists and the National Transitional Council hoped that the fall of Sirte would bring the war to an end. The battle and its aftermath marked the fall of the final stronghold of Gaddafi loyalists. Both Gaddafi and his son, Mutassim, were wounded and captured, then tortured and killed in custody less than an hour later. The month-long battle left Sirte almost completely in ruins, with many buildings damaged or totally destroyed.
Background
In August 2011, anti-Gaddafi forces began a three-pronged advance toward Sirte which lasted several weeks. Pushing forward from Misrata in the west, Brega in the east, and desert positions in the south, they met fierce resistance and suffered heavy casualties in their efforts to reach the city.
Battle
First opposition attack repelled
On 15 September, a spokesman for the National Transitional Council claimed that after being bogged down about 50 km from Sirte for the past several days, opposition fighters had made a major push and reached the western outskirts of Sirte. NTC forces reached the Gharbiyat Bridge on the southwestern edge of the city, and encountered resistance from Gaddafi loyalists. That evening, an NTC military spokesman told Reuters that NTC forces had entered the city itself and that heavy fighting had erupted. A few hours later, the Misrata military council announced that their fighters had taken control of the city center and the exit road, and were cleaning out pockets of resistance, particularly along the beachfront, where remnants of the Khamis Brigade were believed to be holding out. A short time later, however, a spokesman for the opposition forces stated that they were 8–10 kilometers from the city center, having withdrawn to treat casualties.
On 16 September, Al Jazeera claimed that Sirte's airport, 10 kilometers south of the city, was under NTC control. It was also confirmed that opposition forces had been compelled to retreat from the city itself the previous night, after entering it briefly, due to heavy resistance. On 16 September NTC forces launched a larger offensive into the city, and heavy fighting ensued on Sirte's main boulevard, 1 September St.
According to a man claiming to be a spokesman for opposition fighters from inside Sirte, local opposition forces already controlled much of the city, and had been under siege by pro-Gaddafi forces for several months. The man's identity and his claims could not be independently confirmed.
By the evening of the 16th, opposition forces again pulled back from the city after a day of fierce, chaotic street fighting, seemingly contradicting the earlier report by the claimed opposition spokesman from Sirte. The support the opposition had expected from Sirte's residents had not materialized, and loyalist forces had put up stronger resistance than anticipated.
On 17 September anti-Gaddafi fighters renewed their offensive. Sirte's interim representative in the NTC said he had information that "there is no full control over Sirte" by either side, with parts of the city remaining under loyalist control and other parts being taken by opposition fighters. At least three anti-Gaddafi fighters were killed in the fighting, and many wounded were evacuated to a field hospital set up at a gas station on the outskirts of Sirte.
On the eastern front, Al Jazeera reported anti-Gaddafi forces were still struggling to advance. A correspondent in Ras Lanuf said many villages that anti-Gaddafi fighters had entered were found to be deserted, suggesting that their inhabitants had been persuaded to flee by pro-Gaddafi elements.
Later, opposition forces stated that they had captured the city's airport, which they had already claimed to have done one day earlier. An opposition fighter, who was returning from the frontline, stated that NTC forces did not control even 5% of the city, and contradicted his officers' claims of the airport takeover by saying that the NTC forces were only able to enter enemy territory by day and had to pull back at night. Later, it was confirmed that the airport was still in loyalist hands.
On 18 September opposition forces made another incursion into Sirte, but by dusk, had once again retreated to the city's outskirts.
Eastern rebel forces approach
On 22 September, opposition forces advancing from the east, including units from Benghazi, Bayda, and Derna, halted their advance on Sirte for a week due to a shortage of ammunition. Meanwhile, commanders on the front line west of the town said they had been told to expect further NATO air strikes on Thursday and had orders not to advance.
On the evening of 23 September, NTC fighters managed to reach the city's eastern gate with virtually no resistance from pro-Gaddafi forces.
Second opposition attack repelled
On 24 September, after a week of preparations, NTC forces swarmed into the city from the west, taking control of Zafran Square, about one mile from the city center. Opposition troops advanced to a major TV broadcasting station in the city's western part, and encountered heavy resistance from loyalist troops on the main boulevard, toward the city center. An NTC military spokesman claimed that they expected to capture two western neighborhoods by evening. A BBC News correspondent reported that anti-Gaddafi fighters had made a particularly swift advance from the east as well, pushing deep into Sirte, and judged the battle to be tipping in favour of the interim government's forces.
On 25 September, after continued strong resistance from loyalist forces, the NTC fighters retreated from the western part of Sirte, returning to the outskirts. Nine opposition fighters had been killed and 97 wounded in the previous day of fighting.
Third opposition attack repelled
On 26 September NTC forces continued their offensive against Sirte, with NTC tanks on the western outskirts shelling the city center from a distance of two kilometers. Dr. Eman Mohammed, a civilian doctor who worked at the city's central Ibn Sina Hospital before fleeing the fighting to NTC-held territory, reported that most civilian deaths and injuries appeared to have been caused by NTC shelling, leading vengeful relatives to join the pro-Gaddafi forces as armed volunteers. Meanwhile, the main NTC eastern assault body fought their way to within 10 kilometers of the town, and then entered the city itself a few hours later.
On 27 September, an NTC senior military commander in Tripoli announced that their forces had managed to secure the port and were battling for control of the city center, where snipers were halting their progress. Opposition troops advancing from the west were still in the city's outskirts, while those advancing from the east were pinned down by snipers at a roundabout approximately 2 kilometers from the city center, at the eastern edge of the town. Later in the day a shaken NTC fighter from the roundabout arrived at opposition lines outside the city, requesting immediate reinforcement for those left behind. The NTC forces that managed to get to the roundabout could not move due to heavy sniper activity, and were constantly hit with accurate artillery and rocket fire, sustaining heavy casualties. A larger body of reinforcements was held back by a heavy artillery barrage between them and the cut-off troops. Heavy face-to-face fighting was also raging at the Mahari hotel.
On 28 September the NTC offensive continued, with the western and eastern opposition forces attempting to link up south of the city by capturing the airport, which they had already claimed to have seized on several occasions. On the eastern side, however, there were almost no advances. NTC fighters were still pinned down, for a third day, at the roundabout, and not even the arrival of five tanks managed to break the stalemate, as they quickly came under accurate loyalist rocket fire, missing them by only a few yards.
Later in the evening, opposition forces on the eastern edge of the city were finally pushed three kilometers outside the city after a series of ferocious attacks by loyalist fighters.
NTC forces link up, cease-fire
On the morning of 29 September NTC forces pushing from both west and east once again captured the city's airport, but were still facing rocket fire from the other side of the runway.
On 30 September there was no major activity on the frontline, except constant shelling. For a fifth straight day the NTC force at the roundabout remained pinned down, having temporarily run out of ammunition the day before. At this time, a two-day cease-fire was declared by the NTC to give civilians a chance to flee the city, and to allow Red Cross officials to inspect a hospital close to the city center.
On 1 October, a force of about 100 NTC vehicles entered the city from the south and encircled the Ouagadougou Conference Center. Despite the declared cease-fire, NTC shelling of the city center continued near the hospital (west of the conference center) which the humanitarian workers were visiting.
On 2 October, an NTC source claimed that they had taken 95 percent of the town of Qasr Abu Hadi, just opposite of the airport south of the city, which was home to many pro-Gaddafi loyalists and also a small military base. It was also the birthplace of Muammar Gaddafi himself. Another opposition source, however, stated that they were concentrating on the town and still targeting it, having learned from a captured loyalist that Mutassim Gaddafi was possibly holed up in that area. Red Cross officials who had pulled back from the hospital near the city center described a dire situation, with patients dying from the lack of medical supplies and power shortages. They and fleeing civilians also stated that civilian areas were being hit by indiscriminate fire from loyalist, opposition, and NATO forces. That evening NTC forces pulled out of the town of Gaddafi's birth, claiming they had been ordered out so that NATO could conduct air-strikes in the area. Later, it was reported that at this time Mutassim Gaddafi managed to slip out of Sirte and headed south into the Libyan desert.
On the morning of 3 October, Reuters reported that NTC forces had taken control of Qasr Abu Hadi and were clearing out pockets of resistance. However, a NTC commander said they had taken control of 75 percent of the town. Al Jazeera disputed an advance on Qasr Abu Hadi altogether, stating opposition troops were holding positions three kilometers from the town. The BBC confirmed that a new assault on Sirte had started, but noted that the offensive seemed un-coordinated, and that opposition rocket and artillery fire directed at the city appeared random, potentially endangering civilians. Later that evening, Gaddafi's hometown was declared secured by the opposition forces.
Fourth opposition attack
On 4 October opposition forces advanced on the conference centre in Sirte, which was being used as a base by the loyalists. Soon, heavy and accurate pro-Gaddafi fire hit the NTC column, sending it into retreat.
On 5 October, NTC forces claimed to have made a push into the center of Sirte, while their commander announced that they had taken control of half of the city and were expecting it to fall within two days. Both claims would soon be proven untrue. According to NTC forces, the only people left in the city were mercenaries, pro-Gaddafi die-hard fighters, and perhaps Mutassim Gaddafi, while several local citizens said there were almost no loyalist troops left in the city, and resistance was coming mostly from civilian volunteers who were afraid of being massacred by NTC forces. During the assault, for the first time in the war, a loyalist suicide bomber blew himself up among opposition fighters, killing and wounding several.
In Abu Hadi, NTC fighters from Misrata began looting and burning houses in vengeance for the Battle of Misrata. Calls by eastern NTC troops for an end to the looting were ignored. According to humanitarian workers, the NATO bombing was sometimes doing the opposite of its declared purpose of protecting civilians. One aid worker said there was "a lot of indiscriminate fire", and that he had spoken to residents and doctors who complained about deaths from NATO air strikes.