Bab al-Aziziya

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Bab al-Aziziya ( Arabic باب العزيزية, DMG Bāb al-ʿAzīzīya ; "Gate of Power", popularly also Castle of Fear , Castle of Fear or Fortress of Fear ) is a former military complex in the south of Tripoli . It was considered the military command and control center of Muammar al-Gaddafi's forces. Al-Gaddafi and his family also lived on the premises.

In 1986, United States Forces bombers attacked it as part of Operation El Dorado Canyon .

The complex was later the target of massive attacks during the civil war in Libya in the course of the international military operation in Libya until it was finally captured by units of the Libyan National Liberation Army on August 23, 2011 .

In the time that followed, it became a popular destination for family outings.

construction

The site covers six square kilometers and consists of barracks, living quarters and a fortress.

The tent of Muammar al-Gaddafi, in which he received official guests, was located on the premises. However, this was badly damaged by the attacks by NATO in the 2011 civil war.

Bab al-Aziziya is equipped with extensive tunnel systems. So there are tunnels that:

history

Operation El Dorado Canyon

On the night of April 14-15, 1986, the facilities on the site were the primary target of Operation El Dorado Canyon . 13 attacks were carried out on Bab al-Aziziya. It was Khamis al-Gaddafi injured in the age of two to the head.

Civil War 2011

There were conflicting reports about the death of Khamis al-Gaddafi by a deserter pilot from the regular Libyan air force.

There have been multiple rocket and air strikes by international troops on the site, some of which are said to have targeted Gaddafi personally, which NATO denied. In the course of this, several family members of al-Gaddafi are said to have been killed. At the end of August, the area was finally captured by the rebels.

Attacks on Bab al-Aziziya:

date description swell
March, 20th A fighter plane belonging to a deserting pilot from the regular Libyan air force is said to have deliberately crashed into a building in the complex. Khamis al-Gaddafi, a son of al-Gaddafi, was killed, which the government denied.
March, 20th A building fifty meters from al-Gaddafi's tent was hit and destroyed by a rocket in the course of the crash. According to the Libyan government, it was al-Gaddafi's private rooms, according to a representative of the coalition around the military command and control center.
April 14th An air raid on the site took place.
April 24th and 25th Several NATO missiles hit the site. A multi-storey building that was used as a library and office was destroyed and an entrance hall was badly damaged. The Libyan government interpreted the attack as an attack on the life of al-Gaddafi. A spokesman for NATO contradicted this by stating that the attack was aimed at the command centers on the premises and not at al-Gaddafi personally.
1st of May A building was the target of an air raid. According to NATO, the goal was a “ command and control building ”. According to the Libyan government, Saif al-Arab al-Gaddafi , the second youngest son and three grandsons of al-Gaddafi are said to have died. Al-Gaddafi and his wife are also said to have been in the building, but are unharmed.
Night from May 9th to 10th Attacks by NATO took place. Two explosions shook the area.
Night from May 23rd to May 24th between 1.00am and 1.30am 15 heavy explosions were heard in the area. The Libyan government spoke of three dead and 150 injured. NATO confirmed the attack and specified a vehicle park in Bab al-Aziziya as the target, from which guided missiles had previously been shot down.
June 7th The hitherto heaviest air raids on the site took place. Eyewitnesses reported 25 air strikes on targets at the base that day.
Morning of June 16th A violent explosion rocked the area.
August 22nd to August 25th There was heavy fighting by ground troops around Bab al-Aziziya. On August 23, the rebels captured large parts of Bab al-Aziziya. However, they did not find the suspected Muammar al-Gaddafi there. Even two days later, however, government soldiers were still in the complex, resisting.

After the fighting

The fighting subsided by mid-September. Since then, the complex has become an attraction and a popular destination for weekend getaways.

In October 2011, demolition work began on the complex. The walls were leveled and many houses demolished. Families moved into some of the houses that were still standing. Every Friday there is a market on the premises.

jail

According to her parents' testimony, Iman al-Obeidi, a Libyan lawyer, was being held in Bab al-Aziziya.

Web links

  • Isabelle Imhof: Bombs on Ghadhafi. 25 years ago, Ronald Reagan wanted to eliminate Libya's rulers. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . April 14, 2011, accessed on April 14, 2011 (analysis of the effects of " Operation El Dorado Canyon "; including an aerial photo of Bab al-Aziziya).
  • Ghadhafi's secret underworld. Rebels marvel at the conquered network of tunnels. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. August 26, 2011, accessed on August 26, 2011 (Report on the exploration of Bab al-Aziziya after the rebel conquest).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Astrid Frefel: Weekend trip to the “Castle of Fear”. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. September 13, 2011, accessed September 13, 2011 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Rainer Hermann: The castle of fear has fallen. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . September 14, 2011, accessed September 14, 2011 .
  3. ↑ a b c d "Depends on circumstances". In: ORF . March 21, 2011, accessed March 21, 2011 .
  4. ↑ Gaddafi threatens a "long war". In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. March 21, 2011, accessed March 21, 2011 .
  5. ^ David A. Copeland: The Greenwood Library of American War Reporting: The Vietnam War & post-Vietnam conflicts. Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn., 2005, ISBN 978-0-313-32930-2 , p. 346
  6. ↑ a b Gaddafi's further attacks against rebels. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. March 22, 2011, accessed March 23, 2011 .
  7. ^ New Al-Gaddafi appeal. In: ORF. March 29, 2011, accessed March 29, 2011 .
  8. ↑ a b Mission in Libya NATO names conditions for an end to the air strikes. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. April 14, 2011, accessed April 14, 2011 .
  9. ↑ a b Regime regards air strike as attack on Ghadhafi. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. April 25, 2011, Retrieved April 26, 2011 .
  10. ↑ a b Ghadhafi's quarters still in sight. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. April 27, 2011, accessed April 27, 2011 .
  11. ↑ a b Violent resistance by Gaddafi troops. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. August 25, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2011 .
  12. ↑ Ghadhafi's second youngest son killed in a NATO air strike. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. May 1, 2011, accessed May 1, 2011 .
  13. ↑ Again NATO air strikes on Tripoli. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. May 10, 2011, accessed May 11, 2011 .
  14. ↑ Heavy attacks on Tripoli. In: the daily newspaper . May 24, 2011, accessed May 24, 2011 .
  15. ↑ Rebels want to conquer Tripoli. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . June 8, 2011, Retrieved June 8, 2011 .
  16. Jump up ↑ Tripoli. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. June 16, 2011, accessed June 16, 2011 .
  17. ↑ "Long live free Libya!" In: ORF. August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2011 .
  18. ↑ Thomas Schmid: Liberated Land. In: Frankfurter Rundschau. October 21, 2011, accessed October 24, 2011 .
  19. ↑ Leela Jacinto: Rape of Iman Al-Obaidi Is Rape of Libya by Qadhafi and his Thugs. In: Al Jazeera . April 3, 2010, accessed May 11, 2011 .

Coordinates: 32 ° 52 ′ 20 ″  N , 13 ° 10 ′ 25 ″  E