Battle of Wazzin

The Battle of Wazzin was a conflict during the Libyan Civil War for the Libyan-Tunisian border town of Wazzin. Rebel forces made an initial victory, but it was short-lived as Gaddafi's men re-occupied the town, only to lose it again to the rebels.

Battle of Wazzin
Part of the 2011 Nafusa Mountains Campaign
Date21 April 2011 (First Phase)
24–28 April 2011 (Second Phase)
29 April – May 2011 (Third Phase)
11–29 July 2011 (Fourth Phase)
Location
Wazzin, Libya and Dehiba, Tunisia
Result

Tunisian/Anti-Gaddafi rebel victory

  • Loyalist forces occasionally shelled the crossing for months afterward.
  • Fighting ongoing after the Libyan Army clashes with the Tunisian Army
Territorial
changes
  • Rebel forces capture Wazzin on 21 April.
  • Loyalist forces retake the border crossing on 28 April.
  • Tenuous rebel hold on Wazzin by 4 May
Belligerents

Anti-Gaddafi forces

  • National Liberation Army

 Tunisia

  • Tunisian Army
  • Tunisian Police
 Armed forces of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Commanders and leaders
Mustafa Abdul Jalil
Fouad Mebazaa		 Muammar Gaddafi
Casualties and losses

unknown
(1st phase)
3 killed
(2nd phase)*
11 killed
(3rd phase)
Tunisia:1 civilian wounded

Several houses destroyed or damaged		 15 killed
14 captured
(1st phase)

23 killed
(3rd phase)
*Unconfirmed report that up to 20 people in total had been killed on 28 April

The battle spilled over into Tunisian territory on several occasions, prompting clashes with the Tunisian military (which had not explicitly taken a side in the battle).

The fighting turned Wazzin into something of a ghost town, valuable only as a strategic location.

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