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Libya’s Sirte, from Kadhafi to IS

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Sirte, where Libyan pro-government forces are battling Islamic State group militants with American air support, has been in the hands of the jihadists since June 2015.

Here is some background on the fight for the city.

- Strategic importance -

Sirte is on the Mediterranean coast roughly half way between Tripoli in the west and Benghazi in the east.

A major port city, it lies just 350 kilometres (220 miles) from the Italian coast.

It is also a mere 150 kilometres west of Libya's main oil-producing area and export terminals.

Oil is a vital source of income for Libya, and several groups have fought to control its wells and pipelines since the fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

The presence of the Islamic State group in Sirte had raised fears it would attempt to seize the fields to fund its North Africa operations.

US President Barack Obama has defended the air campaign, saying defeating IS there was in America's national interest.

- IS headquarters -

Forces allied with Libya's Government of National Unity (GNA) entered the city on June 9  four ...
Forces allied with Libya's Government of National Unity (GNA) entered the city on June 9, four weeks after launching an offensive to oust IS from the city
Mahmud Turkia, AFP/File

Forces allied with Libya's Government of National Unity (GNA) entered the city on June 9, four weeks after launching an offensive to oust IS from the city.

The jihadists are now holed up in an area around the Ouagadougou conference centre.

Kadhafi erected the centre to host international and African summits and serve his pan-African policy. It was the birthplace of the African Union with the signing of the Sirte Declaration in 1999.

IS now uses the location as its command centre, but has become surrounded there as GNA forces have taken other parts of the town.

GNA forces also seized the port of Sirte, its international airport, an important air base and a hospital in June.

- Kadhafi's birthplace -

Kadhafi, who was born in Sirte in 1942, made great efforts to turn his birthplace into the capital of his "Jamahiriya" -- a "state of the masses" run by local committees.

He created a new province around the town in addition to the three existing regions of Cyrenaica in the east, Fezzan in the southwest and Tripolitania in the north.

In the 1990s, he ordered ministries to be created in Sirte, and even set up a parliament there, but eventually gave up on his plans.

Kadhafi was captured and killed in the city on October 20, 2011.

- Black flags -

Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government stand next to an Islamic State (IS) group fl...
Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government stand next to an Islamic State (IS) group flag in Sirte's centre as they advance to recapture the city from the jihadists on June 10, 2016
Mahmud Turkia, AFP/File

After Kadhafi's ouster, Sirte was largely left to its own devices until it fell into the hands of IS jihadists in June 2015.

Since then, the black flag of IS has flown over public buildings and jihadists have roamed the streets in pickup trucks to check that people are praying at the correct times and women are not venturing out of the home without a male minder.

- Population -

Sirte used to have about 120,000 residents, most of them in the city centre or spread along the coast.

All but around 30,000 have fled since IS took over, a spokesman for pro-government forces, Reda Issa, told AFP.

Most people in Sirte belong to three major tribes including the Kadhadfa tribe of Kadhafi.

Sirte, where Libyan pro-government forces are battling Islamic State group militants with American air support, has been in the hands of the jihadists since June 2015.

Here is some background on the fight for the city.

– Strategic importance –

Sirte is on the Mediterranean coast roughly half way between Tripoli in the west and Benghazi in the east.

A major port city, it lies just 350 kilometres (220 miles) from the Italian coast.

It is also a mere 150 kilometres west of Libya’s main oil-producing area and export terminals.

Oil is a vital source of income for Libya, and several groups have fought to control its wells and pipelines since the fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

The presence of the Islamic State group in Sirte had raised fears it would attempt to seize the fields to fund its North Africa operations.

US President Barack Obama has defended the air campaign, saying defeating IS there was in America’s national interest.

– IS headquarters –

Forces allied with Libya's Government of National Unity (GNA) entered the city on June 9  four ...

Forces allied with Libya's Government of National Unity (GNA) entered the city on June 9, four weeks after launching an offensive to oust IS from the city
Mahmud Turkia, AFP/File

Forces allied with Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNA) entered the city on June 9, four weeks after launching an offensive to oust IS from the city.

The jihadists are now holed up in an area around the Ouagadougou conference centre.

Kadhafi erected the centre to host international and African summits and serve his pan-African policy. It was the birthplace of the African Union with the signing of the Sirte Declaration in 1999.

IS now uses the location as its command centre, but has become surrounded there as GNA forces have taken other parts of the town.

GNA forces also seized the port of Sirte, its international airport, an important air base and a hospital in June.

– Kadhafi’s birthplace –

Kadhafi, who was born in Sirte in 1942, made great efforts to turn his birthplace into the capital of his “Jamahiriya” — a “state of the masses” run by local committees.

He created a new province around the town in addition to the three existing regions of Cyrenaica in the east, Fezzan in the southwest and Tripolitania in the north.

In the 1990s, he ordered ministries to be created in Sirte, and even set up a parliament there, but eventually gave up on his plans.

Kadhafi was captured and killed in the city on October 20, 2011.

– Black flags –

Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government stand next to an Islamic State (IS) group fl...

Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government stand next to an Islamic State (IS) group flag in Sirte's centre as they advance to recapture the city from the jihadists on June 10, 2016
Mahmud Turkia, AFP/File

After Kadhafi’s ouster, Sirte was largely left to its own devices until it fell into the hands of IS jihadists in June 2015.

Since then, the black flag of IS has flown over public buildings and jihadists have roamed the streets in pickup trucks to check that people are praying at the correct times and women are not venturing out of the home without a male minder.

– Population –

Sirte used to have about 120,000 residents, most of them in the city centre or spread along the coast.

All but around 30,000 have fled since IS took over, a spokesman for pro-government forces, Reda Issa, told AFP.

Most people in Sirte belong to three major tribes including the Kadhadfa tribe of Kadhafi.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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