Military compound in Tripoli, Libya
Bab al-Azizia
(
Arabic
:
??? ????????
,
romanized
:
B?b al ‘Az?z?yah
,
[1]
Libyan
pronunciation:
[bæːb
?l
?æziː?zijjæ]
,
lit.
'
The Splendid Gate
'
) was a
military barracks
and compound situated in the southern suburbs of
Tripoli
, the capital of
Libya
. It served as the main base for the Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi
until its capture by
anti-Gaddafi forces
on 23 August 2011, during the
Battle of Tripoli
in the
Libyan Civil War
.
The 6-square-kilometre (2.3 sq mi) base
[2]
is strategically located south of Tripoli city centre at the northern end of Airport Highway, allowing easy access to government assets within the city as well as direct high-speed road access to
Tripoli International Airport
. After the Libyan Civil War, the compound was partially demolished. Some parts of it remain today, albeit in disrepair. The plan, however, is to eventually demolish the entire compound and turn it into a park.
[3]
Structure
[
edit
]
Originally an Italian army base before and during World War II, the barracks were occupied by British forces in 1948. The compound was rebuilt by
King Idris
, the previous ruler of Libya. Gaddafi reinforced and expanded the compound in the 1980s with the help of foreign contractors. It was surrounded by three concrete walls each with slits for weapons. The walls were estimated to be four-meters high and one meter thick with complicated gate structures. Inside, there were fields with trees,
[4]
access to water,
[5]
Gaddafi's private residence, and a number of military barracks used by troops led by Gaddafi's sons.
[6]
Also on the property there was a mosque, a football pitch, a swimming pool, communications center and other administrative structures with roadways. The interior walls were lower and surrounded a more secure area with guards and metal detectors.
[7]
The buildings were connected by extensive networks of tunnels
[8]
that lead to adjoining districts and possibly stretched to the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea
, which is 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) away, and elsewhere in the city of Tripoli. Gaddafi lived in a
Bedouin
-style air conditioned tent on the grounds, which he occasionally pitched in cities he visited.
[9]
In 2009, he attempted to camp in
Central Park
. On a visit to Russia, the tent was pitched in a garden at the
Kremlin
.
[10]
Within the barracks there were facilities for banquets and other public events like pro-Gaddafi rallies. It was described by US intelligence reports published via
WikiLeaks
as "not lavish in any way compared with the ostentation of the Gulf-oil-state families or Hariri clan [in Lebanon]."
[11]
[12]
History
[
edit
]
1986 bombing of Libya
[
edit
]
The site was the main target of the
15 April 1986 United States bombing of Libya
, authorised by
U.S. President
Ronald Reagan
, in response to the
West Berlin discotheque bombing
by the
Libyan government
.
Forewarned by both
Maltese Prime Minister
Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici
and
Italian Prime Minister
Bettino Craxi
[13]
that unauthorized aircraft were flying over Maltese airspace heading south towards Tripoli, Gaddafi and his family rushed out of their residence in the compound moments before the bombs dropped from thirteen
U.S. Air Force
planes. Gaddafi escaped injury,
[14]
but he claimed his fifteen-month-old adopted daughter Hanna was killed and that two of his sons were injured.
[15]
These claims have been disputed. After the capture of Bab al-Azizia in August 2011, documents were found proving Hanna could still be alive, including her passport, and documents which show Hanna supposedly became a doctor and worked in Tripoli.
[16]
[17]
Damaged and hence unused for a period of time, official state receptions moved to the main military barracks buildings for a period, before the Gaddafi family reoccupied their section of the compound.
[
citation needed
]
To express defiance over the bombing, a monument was erected at the compound depicting a left-handed
fist crushing a U.S. fighter jet
. Gaddafi used this monument as a backdrop for speeches given during the
uprising and civil war
in February and March 2011.
2011 bombings, rebel capture, and demolition
[
edit
]
The compound became a target once more when the
Libyan Civil War
broke out in 2011. In March of that year, an international coalition led by
NATO
launched a limited
military intervention
in the conflict, bombing loyalist military units and command-and-control centres.
[18]
Bab al-Azizia was identified as one such centre, and was bombed repeatedly throughout the war.
[19]
[20]
In August, at the height of the
Battle of Tripoli
, Bab al-Azizia became one of the last strongholds of loyalist forces in the capital, along with the
Rixos Al Nasr
hotel. However, on 23 August, the compound's guards surrendered and it was captured by rebel forces.
[21]
Fighters vandalised a statue of Gaddafi as well as the iconic sculpture of a
fist crushing a U.S. fighter jet
, which had been commissioned by Gaddafi after the 1986 bombing, and one rebel was filmed by
Sky News
wearing several items of clothing he had taken from Gaddafi's bedroom.
[4]
[22]
Despite previous reports that Gaddafi and his family may have been inside the compound, they were nowhere to be seen upon its capture; it was later discovered that they had fled to
Sirte
.
The compound was opened to the public, and its condition gradually deteriorated as it was vandalised by anti-Gaddafi protesters. It became a tourist attraction, and in early October Tripoli's Friday market moved into the compound.
[23]
On 17 October, bulldozers began to demolish the outer walls, but stopped short of levelling the entire compound.
[24]
As of February 2012, many buildings had been reduced to rubble and what survived of the compound was in a state of major disrepair.
[25]
Al Arabiya
reported that several families had set up makeshift homes in the former compound due to high living costs elsewhere. Although no plans have been solidified, there are proposals for the new government to complete the demolition of the compound and build a
park
on its land.
[26]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"B?b al 'Az?z?yah: Libya"
.
Geographical Names
. Retrieved
2010-02-26
.
- ^
"Gaddafi Barricaded in Tripoli Compound"
.
CNN-IBN
.
Indo-Asian News Service
. 22 February 2011. Archived from
the original
on 25 February 2011
. Retrieved
4 March
2011
.
- ^
"Gaddafi's compound to serve as public park"
. Al Jazeera English. 20 October 2013
. Retrieved
20 October
2013
.
- ^
a
b
"Libyan rebel forces penetrate Qaddafi's compound"
. Cbsnews.com. 2011-08-23
. Retrieved
2013-06-09
.
- ^
"The Final Battle In Tripoli"
. Lezgetreal.com. 2011-08-23. Archived from
the original
on 2012-07-16
. Retrieved
2013-06-09
.
- ^
"Libya rebels capture Qaddafi's compound in Tripoli, seize rifles from armory"
. English.alarabiya.net. 2011-08-23
. Retrieved
2013-06-09
.
- ^
Westcott, Kathryn (2011-05-01).
"Muammar Gaddafi's presidential bolt-hole"
. Bbc.co.uk
. Retrieved
2013-06-09
.
- ^
"Qaddafi Possibly Loses Another Son"
. Lezgetreal.com. 2011-08-05. Archived from
the original
on 2012-03-23
. Retrieved
2013-06-09
.
- ^
David A. Graham (2011-08-23).
"Inside Gaddafi's Compound"
. Thedailybeast.com
. Retrieved
2013-06-09
.
- ^
Qaddafi’s Visit Upsets N.J. Residents
- ^
Guardian.co.uk: WikiLeaks cables: Muammar Gaddafi ? mercurial, phobic 'King of Culture'
, 7 Dec 2010
- ^
"US embassy cables"
. London: Guardian. 7 December 2010
. Retrieved
2013-06-09
.
- ^
"Italy Helped 'Save' Gaddafi by Warning of US Air Raid (Extra)"
.
Monsters and Critics
.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
. 30 October 2008. Archived from
the original
on 5 December 2012
. Retrieved
4 March
2011
.
- ^
Stengel, Richard
;
Fischer, Dean
; Flamini, Roland (28 April 1986).
"So Close, Yet So Far"
.
Time
. Archived from
the original
on June 29, 2011
. Retrieved
4 March
2011
.
- ^
Schembri, Karl
(3 August 2008).
"Hello Eddie, How Is Mintoff?"
.
Malta Today
. Retrieved
4 March
2011
.
- ^
Davis, Brian Lee (1990).
Qaddafi, Terrorism, and the Origins of the U.S. Attack on Libya
.
New York City
,
New York
:
Praeger Publishing
. p.
141
.
ISBN
978-0-275-93302-9
.
- ^
Kincaid, Cliff (22 February 2011).
"NBC's Mitchell Regurgitates Gaddafi Lies"
.
Accuracy in Media
. Archived from
the original
on 12 August 2019
. Retrieved
4 March
2011
.
- ^
"Libya: US, UK and France attack Gaddafi forces"
.
BBC News
. 20 March 2011
. Retrieved
10 August
2012
.
- ^
Sherwood, Harriet (25 April 2011).
"Gaddafi compound hit in Nato attack"
.
The Guardian
. London
. Retrieved
10 August
2012
.
- ^
"Libya: Nato planes target Gaddafi's Tripoli compound"
.
BBC News
. 25 May 2011.
- ^
"Libya unrest: Rebels overrun Gaddafi Tripoli compound"
.
BBC News
. 23 August 2011.
- ^
"Rebel Fighter Bags Gaddafi's Hat"
. Sky News
. Retrieved
10 August
2012
.
- ^
"In Tripoli, Gaddafi's Palace Becomes People's Market"
. Npr.org
. Retrieved
2013-06-09
.
- ^
"World news"
.
The Guardian
. London. 23 January 2008.
- ^
Carvin, Andy.
"Gadhafi's Compound Slowly Being Erased From History"
. NPR
. Retrieved
10 August
2012
.
- ^
"Qaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya becoming a residential compound"
. Al Arabiya
. Retrieved
10 August
2012
.
External links
[
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]
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Forces
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Battles
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NATO
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People
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Pro-Gaddafi
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NATO
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Others
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Places, buildings
and structures
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Impact
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Other
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