Battle of the Misrata frontline The Battle of the Misrata frontline was a battle during the Libyan civil war between pro - Gaddafi loyalists and anti - Gaddafi forces on the western and southwestern outskirts of Misrata , the third largest city in Libya . It ended when anti - Gaddafi soldiers secured Zliten to the west and Tawergha to the south , establishing a significant buffer zone around the city . Background . Following the Battle of Misrata in mid - May 2011 , rebel forces retook the large parts of the city , which had been under pro - Gaddafi control , and established a defence line on Misrata ' s western outskirts at the small town of Dafniya , 35 kilometers from the centre of the city , and on the southwestern outskirts near Tawergha , which was still loyalist - held . What followed was more than a month of heavy frontline fighting and shelling . The aim of the rebels was to keep Misrata out of the artillery range of loyalist forces and to eventually make a breakthrough to the west toward the town of Zliten and then ultimately to the capital of Tripoli . Battle . Frontline fighting and stalemate . On 16 May , NATO warships chased away two inflatable boats near Misrata ' s port , one boat was left abandoned with explosives and mannequins on board . " They were there to look like people and draw ships in and the explosives could be detonated , " The boat was destroyed by gunfire . On 17 May , seven people were killed and 32 wounded , mostly rebels , during clashes between opposition and loyalist forces on the eastern and western edges of the city . The same day , Libyan state television claimed that Gaddafi ' s forces attacked a NATO warship off the coast of Misrata , this however was denied by NATO officials , stating that " It ' s a totally fabricated allegation " . On 19 May , one rebel was killed and 10 were wounded by loyalist artillery fire in Dafniya , Zreig and Abu Rwea , on Misrata ' s western outskirts . On 23 May , two more people were killed and several wounded in fighting on the city ' s outskirts . During the fighting , a column of five loyalist tanks , accompanied by 50 infantry , advanced on rebel positions at Dafniya , on Misrata ' s western outskirts . During the advance , opposition forces were hit by heavy artillery shelling and rocket fire . The shelling also hit some of Misrata ' s neighbourhoods in the western and southern suburbs . On 26 May , three rebels were killed and 20 wounded by mortar fire on the frontlines near Misrata . On 27 May , Gaddafi ' s forces laid landmines in the Misrata area , according to the commander of the NATO mission . " This morning reports showed that a minefield was laid in the Misrata area , " Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard told a news conference . Also , rebels and loyalists engaged in fierce fighting for a second straight day on the western outskirts of the city in which five more rebels were killed and more than a dozen wounded . On 28 May , rebels and loyalists fought at Tawergha , 40 kilometres south of Misrata , where rebels claimed to had captured a hospital which contained numerous weapons and tanks . Fighting also raged 25 kilometres east of Misrata . In all , 8 - 10 rebels were reported to have died in the fighting and 15 - 40 were wounded . Two loyalist soldiers were captured and an unknown number killed . On 29 May , two rebels were killed and 28 wounded after loyalists attempted an attack against Dafniya . The rebels claimed to have killed several soldiers , captured a tank and repelled the attack . On 31 May , opposition forces attempted to advance from Dafniya toward loyalist lines but were pushed back in fighting that left one rebel dead and 29 wounded . On 1 June , a rebel spokesman from Zliten claimed that the Gaddafi regime was arming criminals in order to use them to crush an anti - Gaddafi rebellion in that city . The regime flatly denied these reports , labelling them unverified and " completely false " . On 2 June , shelling at the frontline left one person dead and three wounded . On 3 June , more fighting killed one rebel and wounded two at the frontline . On 4 June , in fighting on both the western and eastern outskirts of Misrata , four rebels were killed and one wounded . On 6 June , loyalist forces pushed two kilometers into Dafniya , on the western side of Misrata , firing Grad rockets , before being pushed back by three kilometers . Two people were killed and 17 wounded during the fighting and the main station supplying electricity to Misrata had been hit leaving some areas of the city without power . At the same time , there was also fighting on the eastern side of the town . On 8 June , loyalist forces launched a massive offensive on Misrata , shelling the city from three sides and trying to enter the city . After the loyalist attack , the rebels attempted a counter - attack and they also advanced to the west , south and east . But their advance was stopped and they suffered heavy casualties . In total , 14 rebels were killed and 35 wounded . One rebel claimed that 70 loyalist soldiers were killed during the fighting , but no other source confirmed the claim . On 10 June , loyalist forces shelled Misrata and made a ground attack against opposition lines killing 31 rebels and wounding 160 . Several loyalist soldiers were also killed and at least two tanks destroyed . A rebel spokesman stated that during the previous week of fighting 120 people had been killed at Misrata ' s fontline and 350 wounded , most of them rebels . Libya State TV reported that government forces shot down a NATO helicopter near Zliten . NATO denied this . At the same time , heavy fighting had reportedly broken out in Zliten , due to an uprising from rebels within the city . By 12 June , the rebel death toll from three days of shelling had reached nearly 40 . The same day , seven rebels fighters were killed and 49 wounded in the Dafniya district . The rebels also claimed to have captured 10 loyalist soldiers after an ambush . The Misrata refinery was damaged after six rockets hit its power generators . On 17 June , loyalists and rebels exchanged artillery fire killing ten rebels and one civilian . 39 opposition fighters and two children were wounded . Rebels fired rockets aiming for government tanks and ammo stockpiles in Naimah . The next day , 18 June , Gaddafi ' s forces withdrew from Naimah , with minimal fighting , prompting rebels to take the area . Al Jazeera correspondent Tony Birtley said the rebels were now aiming to take the village of Majer , southwest of Naimah , and southeast of Zliten . On 19 June , 10 rebels were killed and 54 wounded in shelling and an ambush conducted by Gaddafi forces , who advanced one kilometer toward rebel lines , making the total casualties for just over a week at more than 40 dead and around 200 wounded . Reuters reporter Matt Robinson analyzed that the rebels small gains were made with heavy casualties due to their inexperience in battles in open areas . Rebels also admitted of doing tactical mistakes such as ruining surprise attacks . One rebel also complained that it was always the same units fighting on the frontline . On 20 June , more fighting near Dafniya left another 11 rebels dead and 30 - 54 wounded . Also , a loyalist rocket attack on a residential area near Misrata ' s port killed a 14 - year - old boy and wounded six of his relatives , including his mother and brother . On 21 June , during another round of fighting , four rebels were killed and 60 wounded . Loyalist forces had managed to advance one kilometer which led to rebel mortar units falling back slightly . Four loyalist long - range rockets hit Misrata ' s city center , but there were no casualties . On 22 June , more loyalist artillery bombardment at the frontline killed four rebels and wounded 12 . Earlier in the day , NATO air - strikes and ship shelling hit a loyalist military compound in Zliten , which was allegedly used for artillery attacks against rebel positions near Misrata . NATO stated that they destroyed 13 technicals , one armored personnel carrier and one mobile rocket launcher . In addition , a rebel spokesman claimed that over 200 loyalist soldiers were killed in the attack . However , there was no independent verification of the number of dead and previous rebel claims of loyalist death tolls were known to be inflated . The loyalists , for their part , claimed that dozens of people were killed . As of 24 June , information coming from the battlefield became almost non - existent , since rebels initiated a media clampdown on the press with the introduction of official minders , vetted translators and no more free trips to the frontline , citing setbacks on the front . On 26 June , an AP reporter from Misrata stated that one person was killed and seven wounded by two shells . On 2 July , it was reported that shelling at Dafniya left 11 rebels wounded . On 3 July , two rebels were killed and 12 wounded during fighting on the frontline . On 4 July , six rebels were killed and 22 wounded in a loyalist ambush south of Misrata . The next day , another 11 rebels were killed and 42 others wounded in the heaviest artillery bombardment of rebel positions by Gaddafi ' s forces in weeks . On 6 July , 19 rebels were killed and 42 others wounded in fighting near Misrata , as well as 10 loyalist soldiers . Three civilians were also killed in loyalist rocket attacks . Among the rebels killed was Air Marshal Brigadier Ali Attalah Obeidi , who defected in April to the opposition forces . Earlier in the day , rebels said that they advanced 20 km toward the west but a Reuters reporter who later reached the new front line said the rebel positions had moved forward by seven kilometers . Rebel advance on Suq Al Thulatha . On 8 July , after heavy fighting which continued since 6 July , the rebels claimed that they managed to capture the village Suq Al Thulatha on the outskirts of Zliten , about away from the city center . Seven rebels died and more than 30 were wounded in the fighting . Another 500 rebel fighters from other parts of rebel - held Libya also reinforced Misrata fighters the same day . On 10 July , rebels encountered several minefields in Suq Al Thulatha , in which one rebel died and 32 were injured . Rebels had also shelled the coastal road near Zliten , in the early hours , killing seven people . On 11 July , 11 rebels were killed and 25 wounded in more fighting in the area of Suq Al Thulatha after loyalist forces attempted to take a hill which had a strategic overlook of Misrata in the distance . They advance 300 meters before being pushed back . On 12 July , 19 rebels were killed and 22 wounded in heavy frontline shelling by loyalist forces . The next day , 13 July , more fighting left five rebels dead and 17 wounded . On 16 July , six rebels were killed and four wounded in fighting on the frontline . On 18 July , 23 rebel fighters were wounded during fighting in the region of Dafniya . On 20 July , seven rebels were killed and 13 wounded when they started a new offensive towards Zliten that they claimed had put them within 1 . 5 kilometers of the city . Three wounded loyalist soldiers were captured by the rebels during the fighting , of which one died later of his wounds . Rebel forces attempting to advance towards Zliten managed to capture General Abdul Nahib Zayid , who had been commanding pro - Gaddafi forces in Zliten and who had been heavily involved in the Battle of Misrata . Between 25 and 26 July , three rebels were killed and 11 others wounded in fighting on the frontline . On 27 July , four rebels were killed and 14 wounded in fighting west and south of Misrata . Battle of Zliten . Rebels launched an offensive into Zliten on 21 July , but on 22 July , loyalists appeared to gain the upper hand , forcing them back into the outskirts of the city . On 25 July , government forces destroyed a giant fuel tank in Misrata with Grad rockets causing most stations to close . On 30 July , loyalists launched a big attack on Dafniyah from its south with tanks and infantry , breaking through rebel lines and inflicting major casualties before being forced back . The rebel counteroffensive made it to Souk al Talak , west of Souk al Thulatha , before the anti - Gaddafi forces were pushed back to Souk al Thulatha . They reportedly mulled bypassing Zliten in favor of an offensive against Khoms , but they continued to advance toward Zliten . On 1 August , rebels said they had seized the city centre of Zliten , but fighting continued and the rebels reportedly had difficulty in securing the support of local tribes . Though the government claimed it had full control of Zliten on 3 August , journalists reported fighting continued in the city . On 2 August , Gaddafi forces attacked the rebels , reinforced by a brigade from Benghazi , in the farms north of Zliten , taking them by surprise and killing at least eight rebels and wounding 65 . One of the opposition commanders leading the assault stated that earlier in the day rebels had made some gains on the eastern outskirts of Zliten , but following the loyalist counter - attack they were pushed back to their starting positions . On 3 August , the Libyan government said that they pushed back the rebels to Dafniyah after having beaten the rebels at the entrance to Zliten . The rebels denied these claims and stated that they had repelled the attempted offensive and had not retreated . Still , fighting appeared to be mostly centered in the eastern suburbs of the town , contradicting earlier rebel reports that they reached the city center . The rebel offensive in Zliten stalled by 7 August , and opposition forces were trying to hold on to positions in Suq Al Thulatha after their advance into Zliten was halted due to the loyalist counter - attack and a lack of ammunition . On 9 August , the Libyan government claimed that 85 civilians were killed in NATO airstrikes on Majer , a village near Zliten . A NATO spokesman said the sites struck were legitimate military targets and they had no evidence of civilian casualties . Reporters viewed at least 30 bodies , several of them the bodies of women and children . Rebels made a major push into Zliten on 19 August , and in the evening , Al Jazeera ' s Andrew Simmons reported from Zliten that the city was under rebel control and people were celebrating in the streets . Loyalist forces reportedly retreated to Khoms . Battle of Tawergha . On 11 August , six rebels were killed and 70 wounded as the rebels attempted to push toward Tawargha where they later that day claimed victory over loyalist forces . Fighting continued at Tawargha the next day with another three rebels being killed and another three opposition fighters were killed in clashes at Zliten . End of the battle . On 13 August rebels claimed to have taken a bridge over the Sawfajjin valley which links Misrata and Sirte . On 13 August , a governmental spokesman claimed that loyalist forces had defeated an attempt by rebels to take the city of Bani Walid , southwest of Misrata . No other sources have reported on the claimed battle at Bani Walid . On 17 August , rebels stated that they had reached the outskirts of Al Hayshah , north of a major crossroads . Misrata radio reported that a column of rebel vehicles advanced southwards from Misrata , taking the town of Bir Durfan , and intended to capture the city of Bani Walid within days . On 23 August , the city of Khoms and the coastline towards Tripoli were captured by rebel forces .