Battle of Gharyan (2011)

On 13 August, rebel forces attacked Gharyan. It was reported that the rebels were initially successful as Gaddafi forces retreated, however they later regrouped and attacked.^[6] On 14 August, the Rebels stated that they controlled "70 percent" of the city.^[7] A fighter in Al-Qawalish said he heard that loyalist troops were retreating from Gharyan.^[8] On 15 August, the rebels claimed they had "full control" of the city.^[9][10] A spokesman for the rebel military council in the Nafusa Mountains asserted, "Gharyan is fully in the hands of the revolutionaries. They crushed the Sahban Brigade, the main command center for Gaddafi in the Western Mountains. They took the brigade's heavy and light weapons."^[11]

On 16 August, governmental spokesman Moussa Ibrahim stated that governmental troops would soon retake Gharyan, implicitly supporting the rebel account that Gharyan had been taken.^[12][13] Reuters confirmed that Gharyan was in rebel hands, with rebel forces positioned in the city centre with a T-34 tank.^[14]

On 17 August, continued fighting in the city was reported.^[15]

On 18 August, loyalists fully withdrew from the city, which was confirmed by a Reuters correspondent. The loyalists had retreated north to 'Aziziya.^[16][17]

On 15 August, rebels claimed to have moved south from Gharyan after the battle, and taken the military base of Mizda, gaining access to the Libyan Army's military supplies stored there.^[18] Mizda lies near a strategic junction between roads to Gharyan, Bani Walid, and Sabha.