Zintan and the Libyan Revolution

Zintan is a town of nearly 50,000 people, lying in the western mountains of Libya. While the western mountains are mainly populated by Berber tribes, Zintan is mostly old Arab tribes, who were able to survive the harsh environment and establish themselves in the area.

Historically, Zintan is known for having a strong tribe of fighters; therefore the tribe is also referred to as the Knights of Zintan.

Zintan, along with other towns in the mountain, played a strategic role in overthrowing the regime of Moammar Gaddafi. In the early days of the Libyan revolution, after February 17th, 2011, Zintan took a strong stand against the Gaddafi regime, and pushed for his departure.

Anticipating a major crackdown by the Libyan army, Zintanis collected weaponry and prepared for a fight. In March, 2011, Gaddafi’s army left their base in Gharyan and headed towards the mountains in an attempt to crush the rebellion.

Even though the Gaddafi army was able to besiege towns like Kikla, Qalaa and Yefran, they were stopped at the eastern gates of Zintan. Zintanis were determined to push back the army and keep the rest of the mountains, which stretch all the way to Tunisia, under their control.

In May 2011, rebels were able to take over the Dhehiba border crossing with Tunisia, which shifted the war strategy dramatically. Families left the mountains to Tunisia, and only fighters remained in the towns. A supply chain for food, medicine, and weaponry was put in place. By June 2011, several training camps were formed in the mountains to allow those who escaped the areas still under Gaddafi’s control to join the fight.

By July 2011, the seemingly weak civilian rebel army was able to attack Gaddafi’s army in the east and north of Zintan. This allowed the rebels to get closer to Tripoli and come down from the mountains to the coastal plains. The rebels were positioned west of the village of Bir Al Ghanam, 80 km south of Az-Zawiyah and 80 KM south-west of Tripoli.

In the following days, the rebels made a big push to break through Bir Al Ghanam, thus opening the highways leading to Surman and Subratah, Az-Zawiyah, Tripoli, and Gharyan. The rebels were able to push back Gaddafi’s army all the way to and beyond Tripoli. This led eventually to the successful overthrow of Ghadafi’s regime.