Tripoli protests and clashes ( February 2011 ) The 2011 Tripoli clashes were a series of confrontations between Libyan anti - government demonstrators and forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the capital city of Tripoli at the beginning of the Libyan Civil War . During the early days of the uprising , there was significant unrest in the city , but the city remained under the control of the government . Background . Gaddafi had ruled Libya since overthrowing the Libyan monarchy in 1969 . As the Arab Spring caused revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt , which both border Libya , Gaddafi was reportedly still in full control , being the longest - ruling non - royal head of state . < ref name = " Whitlock 02 / 22 " > < / ref > However , the protestors wanted democracy , and Libya ' s corruption perception index in 2010 was 2 . 2 , worse than Tunisia or Egypt . February clashes . On 17 February 2011 , it was reported that supporters of the Libyan opposition had taken to the streets and Green Square during the " Day of Revolt " . On 20 February , it was claimed that snipers fired on crowds to control Green Square , as protesters started fires at police stations and the General People ' s Congress building . Reportedly , the state television building was also set on fire on 21 February . On the morning of 21 February , activists claimed that protesters surrounded Gaddafi ' s Bab al - Aziza compound and were trying to storm it , but were forced back by heavy gunfire that killed up to 80 people . On 22 February , it was stated that the justice ministry at al - Shuhadaa square and the Shaabia headquarters were attacked . Tripoli ' s Mitiga International Airport may have been taken by the protesters on 25 February . The Tajura district of Tripoli rose up against control by the Gaddafi government on 25 February . However , it was quickly confronted by government troops who reportedly fired on the protestors and killed 25 of them . The National Transitional Council formed by the rebels in Benghazi , their interim capital , said through their spokesman Hafiz Ghoga that " we will help liberate other Libyan cities , in particular Tripoli through our national army , our armed forces , of which part have announced their support for the people . " Various countries , including the United Kingdom and the United States , were considering creating a no - fly zone under United Nations guidance , which would prevent warplanes being used and mercenaries being flown in . The Russian foreign minister rejected the idea and instead supported sanctions , while the Chinese spokesman said their priority was , " for the violence to end , to avoid casualties and to make constructive efforts to help Libya return to peace and stability " and likewise rejected the no - fly zone . On 1 March , British prime minister David Cameron backtracked from his comments regarding the no - fly zone . Gaddafi ' s son Saif al - Islam , who is British - educated , accused Cameron of wanting to be a hero , and described Cameron ' s military threats as " like a joke " . He also stated that if military action was taken , " we are ready we are not afraid . " Gaddafi loyalists remained in control in Tripoli , and on 1 March it was reported that many shops were closed and the few banks that opened had queues outside . Also on 1 March , a convoy of twenty government aid trucks left Tripoli with food and medicine for the rebel - held eastern city of Benghazi . Public appearances by Gaddafi . On 25 February , Gaddafi made a public speech in Green Square , stating " We will fight them and we will beat them . Sing , dance and prepare yourselves . If needs be , we will open all the arsenals . " Subsequent attempts at protests . UNSC Resolution 1973 . On the night of 17 – 18 March , following United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 , more clashes occurred between protesters and pro - Gaddafi forces in Tripoli in several different areas . Protests were also planned for 18 March . However , instead , protests against the UN military intervention and in support of Gaddafi ' s government took place over the coming days . Iman al - Obeidi . In late March , postgraduate law student and Gaddafi opponent Iman al - Obeidi was gang - raped by pro - Gaddafi forces in Tripoli , escaped and reported the event to foreign reporters at the Rixos Al Nasr hotel , and was detained and released several times by pro - Gaddafi forces , attracting worldwide support , and giving interviews with the anti - Gaddafi Libya TV and other media in early April . April . An anti - Gaddafi street protest took place in the Fashloom suburb of Tripoli on 7 April . At a small anti - Gaddafi protest at dawn on 9 April , the participants released a protest statement . They stated , " These are our streets , and these are our alleys , for we vow to you shameful and disgraceful Gaddafi , not you nor your battalions , nor your snipers , nor your mercenaries however many they are , will not terrify us anymore , and we will not back down on our revolution and up rise no matter how greater the sacrifice . " According to local residents interviewed by Reuters , several attacks by local Tripoli residents against military checkpoints and a police station in Tripoli took place during the first full week of April , with gunfights being heard at night . An exiled anti - Gaddafi Libyan who kept in daily contact with people from the suburb of Tajoura stated , " There have been attacks by Tripoli people and a lot of people have been killed on the Gaddafi army side . " Hundreds of young men suspected of being Gaddafi opponents were imprisoned in late March and early April . According to one resident interviewed by Reuters , pro - Gaddafi forces controlled most of the major roads and intersections in the suburbs , while smaller streets deeper in the city ' s outskirts , like Tajura , were under opposition control . May . On 9 May , an opposition newspaper , " Brnieq " , reported a " full - scale " uprising in the suburbs of the Tripoli by anti - Gaddafi forces who had been supplied with light weapons by defecting security forces . Protesters planned to head towards the centre of the city . A Libyan official denied the report and said that it was peaceful in Tripoli . Reuters correspondent in the center of the city heard no gunfire . The following day , Al Jazeera reported that opposition members had hoisted their flag at the Mitiga air base in eastern Tripoli before withdrawing . On 13 May , there were anti - government protests again . Al Jazeera English reported on 30 May that " unprecedented protests " occurred in Tripoli . Large demonstrations such as those had previously been limited by the heavy security presence , indicating the growing boldness of the populace of Tripoli . The protesters were eventually dispersed by live fire from security forces . June . By June , there were ongoing guerrilla attacks on military checkpoints in the city . August . Rebels made significant military advances from their stronghold in the Nafusa Mountains , taking large parts of the coastal town of Zawiya , roughly west of Tripoli , seizing parts of the Libyan Coastal Highway , preventing military supplies and fuel reaching Tripoli from Tunisia . They also claimed to have seized Gharyan to the south , cutting off supplies to Tripoli from there also , seemingly in an attempt to cut off , and then besiege , the capital . On 20 August , it was reported that the Battle of Tripoli had started and that heavy gunfire and explosions were occurring in parts of the city , and that clashes were ongoing in the eastern suburb of Tajoura . Text messages were sent out to Tripoli residents by the government , demanding they go out to the streets to fight against " agents with weapons " .