| Bab al-Azizia | |
|---|---|
| باب العزيزية | |
| Tripoli, Libya | |
| Type | Military barracks and compound |
| Demolished | 30 October 2011 |
| Controlled by | Anti-Gaddafi forces |
| Commanders | Abdel Hakim Belhadj |
| Events | 1986 Bombing of Libya 2011 Libyan civil war Battle of Tripoli (2011) |
Bab al-Azizia (Arabic: باب العزيزية Bāb al ‘Azīzīyah,[1] Libyan pronunciation: [bæːb əl ʕæziːˈzijjæ]) "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 Colonel Muammar Gaddafi until its capture by anti-Gaddafi rebels on 23 August 2011, during the Battle of Tripoli in the Libyan civil war.
The 6-square-kilometre (2.3 sq mi) base[2] was 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 demolished, with plans to turn it into a park.[3]
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The original compound was built 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 underground tunnels[8] that lead to adjoining districts and possibly stretched to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, which is 2 miles 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. In 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]
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 1986 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 was still alive, including her passport, and documents which show Hanna 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.
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.
On 20 March 2011, the compound was bombed by a NATO coalition Tomahawk missile. The reason given for this was that the compound contained command-and-control facilities for what remained of the Libyan government forces.
On 21 March 2011, there was an attempt to carry out a second bombing on the compound but the mission was aborted because there were civilians in the surroundings of the building.[18] LJBC television has shown festive gatherings outside the compound continually during the NATO campaign.
On 24 April, around 23:00 UTC, the compound was bombed by NATO after they gave a warning to civilians inside. The main TV studios were also bombed in this raid.
On 24 May 2011, a series of powerful explosions shook Tripoli overnight after NATO warplanes carried out close to 20 bombing raids. Witnesses said many of the raids appeared to be close to a military compound where Gaddafi might be hiding. A NATO spokesman indicated that a vehicle storage facility next to the Bab al-Azizia camp had been hit in the bombing raids. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, however, claimed that NATO warplanes missed their target, instead striking civilian houses nearby. Libyan government television showed 19 bodies at a hospital. Hospital workers claimed the victims were civilians who were killed by “NATO crusaders.”[19]
On 25 May, there were at least five large night explosions, as the NATO air campaign continued, with air strikes again targeting the area around Bab al-Azizia compound. Russia said the raids were a "gross violation" of the resolution, which Moscow did not vote for. Large plumes of smoke could be seen drifting over the city. NATO said the large Bab al-Azizia compound was being used by the regime as a base for troops and vehicles to carry out attacks on civilians; Libyan authorities maintained that NATO was trying to kill Gaddafi and the night-time strikes were terrorising Tripoli residents.[20]
On 28 May 2011, a series of explosions included blasts at a compound belonging to Gaddafi and one at a nearby tribal compound, a government official said. The official said one strike occurred on Bab bin Ghashir, a tribal compound near Bab al-Azizia, where the other strikes occurred. The official believed the strikes were NATO attacks. NATO confirmed one of the attacks; a press officer said the strike on Bab bin Ghashir was timed to minimize civilian casualties. NATO said it targeted a vehicle storage area at Bab bin Ghashir.[21]
On 20 August, the Battle of Tripoli began with uprisings within the city. By 22 August, Bab al-Azizia was surrounded by rebel fighters and was repeatedly bombed by NATO jets. On 23 August, the rebels breached the outer walls of the compound. Subsequently, the forces defending the compound surrendered and rebels poured in; fighters climbed onto the Fist Crushing a U.S. Fighter Plane Sculpture. Despite previous reports that Gaddafi and his family might be inside the compound, they were not found when it fell to the rebels.[22]
By October, it was reportedly being used as a marketplace and tourist attraction.[23] On 16 October, the walls were demolished by bulldozers.[24]
On 30 October the compound was demolished, with hopes of turning it into a park.[25]
Early November, many visitors flock into the compound on foot or by car to see the ruins and walk through the underground tunnels. The walls are full with graffiti.
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