page_title: Battle of Bani Walid
section_title: Fifth attack and takeover
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Bani Walid / Battle / Fifth attack and takeover
caption_attribution_description: English: [Essam Mohamed] Fighters for Libya's interim government rejoice after winning control of the Kadhafi stronghold of Bani Walid. العربية: فرحة مقاتلي الحكومة الانتقالية الليبية بعد سيطرتهم على معقل القذافي في بني وليد Français&#160;: Les combattants du gouvernement intérimaire libyen se réjouissent après avoir pris le contrôle de Bani Walid, l'un des derniers bastions de Kadhafi. magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/ar/features/awi/features... magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/fr/features/awi/features... magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/featu...
context_page_description: The Battle of Bani Walid was a military operation in the Libyan Civil War conducted by anti-Gaddafi forces in September and October 2011, in an effort to take control of the desert city of Bani Walid from pro-Gaddafi forces. It began following days of force buildup on the part of the attackers, as well as skirmishes around the city.
context_section_description: 15 October
  NTC forces claimed that their forces managed to capture the hospital and the industrial area and had moved into the market area where their progress was stalled by snipers. They also claimed to have surrounded loyalist forces in the "Olive Tree" region where the loyalists were running out of ammunition.
  16 October
  The opposition claimed that they had moved even further, allegedly taking control over the center of Bani Walid and the northern part, while loyalist forces were claimed by the opposition to be stationed in the Dahra district, in southern Bani Walid. At the end of the day Mahmoud Tawfiq, a spokesman of the southern front in Bani Walid, said to Xinhua, that fighters from the southern front entered the center of the city and were expecting to meet with units from the east and west on 17 October, while Salah Matouk, a field commander at Bani Walid, told local channel Liberal that the Bani Walid battle had been resolved completely in favor of the NTC fighters, who were waiting for the next morning to start the mopping-up operations. None of the NTC claims from the previous two days were by this point independently verified. The overall commander of opposition troops at Bani Walid, Musa Yunis, only stated during the evening that combat operations at the city had resumed and that they had advanced from the northern and southern front. BBC news and AFP reiterated that the extent of the rebel advance into the city remained unclear and unverified and an NTC commander said that their forces had been in the town in the afternoon, after they attacked during the morning, but that they encountered heavy resistance. Reuters reported that the opposition advance into Bani Walid had been hindered by snipers.
  17 October
  By 17 October, anti-Gaddafi fighters claimed to have moved into the town and made significant advances. Anti-Gaddafi forces seized the local radio station, which Gaddafi had been using to help broadcast messages in the past few weeks. By mid-afternoon, an Al Jazeera correspondent reported that the transitional government's fighters had captured the city, though they claimed there were still some small pockets of resistance to be dealt with. By the end of the day, Reuters correspondents in the city confirmed that there were no signs of fighting in the city, while the new Libyan flag was hoisted in the central square and a local commander announced that his forces had taken control of the whole city. It was later reported that the quick takeover of Bani Walid, following more than a month of heavy fighting and a prolonged stalemate, was the result of a negotiated surrender by the loyalist forces.
  19 October
  A South African bodyguard claimed to have seen Saif al-Islam Gaddafi escape the city even though his motorcade had been hit by a NATO air strike.
caption: Anti-Gadafi fighters celebrate victory on 17 October 2011
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