Second Battle of Bin Javad

August 23 - a number of news agencies citing Al-Jazeera and the representative of the Benghaz revolutionaries Muhammad Zawiva reported that, meeting a minimum of resistance, their troops captured the villages of Bashir and Ageil , located between Brega and Ras Lanuf ^[1] . According to Zawiva, “our troops traveled 40 kilometers, we entered Bashir and will be in Ras Lanuf tonight” ^[2] . On the evening of August 23, the military representative of the revolutionaries, Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani, announced that they had entered Ras Lanuf ^[3] . Muhammad Zawawi, a rebel spokesman, said Gaddafi’s troops had retreated beyond the Red Valley in the direction of Sirte ^[4] .

August 24 - PNS army spokesman Fawzi Bukatif told AFP news agency that in the area of ​​the small town of Bin Javad, the advance of the revolutionary forces was stopped by artillery fire, which took the PNS by surprise. According to Fawzi Bukatif, the troops of Gaddafi managed to create a defensive line along the "Red Valley" , and obviously are not going to surrender, as previously expected ^{[5] [6]} . The "Red Valley" is considered the westernmost point that the revolutionaries on the eastern front at the end of March were able to reach before being driven back by reinforcements from Gaddafi’s troops from March 28 to April 10 to Ajdabiya. According to the revolutionaries themselves, then the Red Valley area was mined.

August 25 - PNS forces, which had approached Bin Javad the day before and came under heavy artillery fire, retreated to Ras Lanuf, which now houses the headquarters of the revolutionary forces, one of their commanders said. According to him, the local population in the Bin-Javad region and further towards Sirte is clearly unfriendly towards the revolutionaries: “The local population betrayed us twice, and now we understand what is happening” ^[7] .

August 26 - according to data not yet confirmed, the fighting between Gaddafi’s troops and the PNS forces over Ras Lanuf, between the port of As-Sidr and the small town of Bin Javad was resumed ^[8] . Al-Arabiya TV channel reports that, according to representatives of the revolutionaries, their troops were able to gain a foothold in strategically important positions around the city of Bin Javad, including the military base where Gaddafi’s tanks were previously located ^[9] . The actions of the PNS army in the Bin-Javad area on August 26 were accompanied by NATO air strikes on Sirt. In particular, the British Tornado fighters launched a missile attack on Gaddafi’s bunker in Sirte, as reported by the British Secretary of Defense ^[10] .

August 27 - Despite statements by individual military revolutionaries about negotiations with Gaddafi’s detachments in Sirte, there were reports that PNS forces had withdrawn from Bin Javad to the port of Sidra, where reinforcements of the revolutionary forces approached. According to Al-Jazeera’s correspondent, Gaddafi’s forces are clearly trying to keep Bin-Jawad at all costs and prevent the PNS army from moving further than Ras Lanuf, as evidenced by the fierce resistance of Gaddafi’s troops ^[11] . A little later, on August 27, the first reports citing SkyNews began to arrive that the PNS army had already captured Bin-Javad ^[12] . Later, Al-Jazeera, as well as other media confirmed this information ^[13] . Reuters also reports that the PNS army is located 100 km from Sirte, which, in the words of PNS spokesman Mohammed Zawavi, is being negotiated so far in order to avoid casualties among the civilian population ^[14] .

After the capture of Bin Javad, the revolutionaries captured En-Nofalia and began the battle for Sirte .

1. ↑ Libyan rebels push east towards oil port: report Archived January 11, 2012 to Wayback Machine // Bdnews24.com , September 7, 2011
2. ↑ Libya rebels advance west, eye Gaddafi home town // Ahram Online, 23 August 2011
3. ↑ Libya rebels take Ras Lanuf (link not available) // Breitbart TV, 23 August 2011
4. ↑ Opposition fighters in eastern Libya took control of the oil port of Ras Lanuf on Tuesday as soldiers loyal to Muammar Gaddafi retreated toward the leader's home town of Sirte // Al Jazeera Live Blog August 23, 2011 - 19:46 GMT + 3 - Libya
5. ↑ Gaddafi forces halt rebel advance on road to Sirte // France 24 , August 24 , 2011
6. ↑ Rebels stuck at Bin Jawad on way to Kadhafi hometown Archived January 12, 2012 on Wayback Machine
7. ↑ Gaddafi troops make a stand at Bin Jawad Archived January 12, 2012 to Wayback Machine // The Independent, August 26, 2011
8. ↑ CNN: Fred Pleitgen on the Eastern Frontlines in Ras Lanuf Before Sirte // Youtube
9. ↑ Vivian Salama and Emre Peker Libya Urgently Needs Aid, Rebels Say, as Qaddafi Calls for Jihad // Bloomberg Businessweek , 26 August 2011
10. ↑ UK jets bomb Gaddafi hometown bunker Archived January 11, 2012 to Wayback Machine // The Independent, August 27, 2011
11. ↑ Jacky Rowland Reporting // 27 August 2011 - 12:26 GMT + 3 - Libya
12. ↑ Libia: SkyNews, ribelli conquistano Bin Jawad (link unavailable) // ITnews, August 27, 2011 cache copy (link unavailable)
13. ↑ Libyan rebels claim victory in Bin Jawad // Youtube
14. ↑ Robert Birsel, Richard Valdmanis, Andrew Heavens UPDATE 1-Libyan rebels: need over 10 days to take Sirte (inaccessible link) // Reuters Africa , August 28, 2011