Zintan (Arabic: الزنتان, meaning "small castles") is a city in northwestern Libya, situated roughly 136 kilometres (85 mi) southwest of Tripoli, in the area. The city and its surrounding area has a population of 16,024.
Zintan
Zintan / الزنتان | |
|---|---|
City | |
  Zintan Location in Libya | |
| Coordinates: 31°55′50″N 12°14′54″E / 31.93056°N 12.24833°E | |
| Country |  Libya |
| Region | Tripolitania |
| District | Jabal al Gharbi |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
| • Total | 16,024 |
| • Demonym | Zintani |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| License Plate Code | 42 |
History
editThe Roman garrison town of Tentheos was on the Nafusa mountain range in the hinterland of the Limes Tripolitanus, near the border.[2]
Civil War activity
editGroups from Zintan joined in the Libyan Civil War in 2011. The Battle of Zintan reportedly began when the Gaddafi-led government forces arrived to recruit 1,000 soldiers. Insulted by the proposal to fight fellow Libyans, a group formed in Zintan to protest. As the group grew, pro-Gaddafi forces attacked but local groups counterattacked with seized weapons, "rout[ing]" a large, heavily armed government convoy on 19–20 March.[3][4]
The Zintan people were responsible for the capture of Saif al-Islam, the second son of Muammar Gaddafi.[5] He was captured on 19 November 2011, a month after his father's death, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of the town of Ubari near Sabha in southern Libya.[6]
In 2015, during the Second Libyan Civil War, the area was damaged by a series of airstrikes from February to April.[7]
Notable people
edit- Osama al-Juwaili (born 1961), politician
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ World Gazetteer. "Libya: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". Archived from the original on 2012-12-04. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ Olwen Hackett, David John Smith: Ghirza. A Libyan settlement in the Roman period. Department of Antiquities, Tripoli 1984, S. 33.
- ^ Gadhafi retakes oil port in rebel-held east Libya Archived May 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Libyan rebels drive back government troops advancing on town of Zintan Archived June 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "How Saif al-Islam was captured". BBC News. 20 November 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ "Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam captured in Libya". BBC. 19 November 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
- ^ Kirtpatrick, David D. (17 February 2015). "Islamist Faction in Libya Now Strikes From the Sky". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
31°55′50″N 12°14′54″E / 31.93056°N 12.24833°E
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