Fezzan campaign The Fezzan campaign was a military campaign conducted by the National Liberation Army to take control of southwestern Libya during the Libyan Civil War . During April to June 2011 , anti - Gaddafi forces gained control of most of the eastern part of the southern desert region ( i . e . the southern part of Cyrenaica ) during the Cyrenaican desert campaign . In July , Qatrun changed to anti - Gaddafi control on 17 July and back to pro - Gaddafi control on 23 July . In late August , anti - and pro - Gaddafi forces struggled for control of Sabha . Background . Before the war , parts of southern Libya were known for being almost lawless , and travel was often restricted in some areas due to the presence of bands of militants and bandits ( often filtering across the border from Algeria ) roaming the desert between towns . Clashes between Islamic militants linked to Al - Qaeda and Libyan security forces occurred several times near the town of Ghat in the years leading up to the conflict . Further south , near the border with Chad , the terrain is made hazardous by landmines in the desert left over from the Chadian - Libyan conflict , which lasted from 1978 to 1987 . The far south also lacks paved roads and functioning mobile phone services , making communication difficult even in peacetime . Preceding events . Following the Cyrenaican desert campaign mounted by loyalist forces , focus shifted to the southern part of the Libyan Desert . By mid - June 2011 , the Eastern Desert was under the control of forces answering to the National Transitional Council in Benghazi . Clashes in Sabha , the largest city in the Fezzan , in mid - June suggested previously unknown vulnerabilities in a settlement thought to be a loyalist stronghold . Although anti - Gaddafi activists and fighters in Sabha were successfully suppressed , the NTC suggested that the bold attempt at uprising was indicative of cracks in Gaddafi ' s support base in the oasis city . The campaign . Moving out of Kufra , a population center in the southeastern desert , rebel forces moved through Murzuq District along the international border with Chad and Niger in mid - July 2011 . They secured the Tumu border crossing and took Qatrun on 17 July , without a shot , also capturing a military airfield and outpost at Al Wigh near the Niger border . Pro - Gaddafi forces were believed to have withdrawn to Traghan in order to block a suspected rebel advance on Sabha , but rebel forces bypassed Traghan in their northward press in order to capture the village of Umm Al Aranib as a forward base . Loyalist forces attacked Qatrun three times before finally recapturing it on 23 July . Toubou tribesmen , who declared support to the National Transitional Council , retreated to the south of the town , leaving about 20 , 000 civilians trapped between them and the army . At least two people are thought to had been killed and eight wounded in the final attack to retake the town . On 5 August , Alain Juppé , the French foreign minister , claimed that the southern regions of Libya are " practically under the NTC ' s control " . There was no confirmation of the claim by either independent media , the loyalists or the rebels . Toubou fighters seized Murzuk along with its military base after an hour of intense fighting on 17 August , a commander reported in Benghazi two days later . 12 government soldiers were killed , as well as one rebel , and the opposition fighters also seized supplies and weapons . Jufra . At least one NTC official has suggested that the Jufra District , including Hun , Waddan , and neighbouring towns , as well as the Al Jufra Air Base , is a key target , more valuable than Bani Walid or Sirte . On 19 September , NTC forces took over Zella , an oasis town near the Jufra area , Al Jazeera reported . On 21 September pro - Gaddafi forces shelled town Hun which , according to AFP witness , was already taken by NTC forces . On the same day NTC announced that they have taken control over town Jufra and surrounding area . This was later confirmed on NATO press conference by Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard . Sabha . Several months after clashes occurred in the southern Libyan city of Sabha in June , Libyan opposition forces reported fierce fighting between revolutionary fighters and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi on 23 August . Several days later , on 25 August , rebels claimed to have again captured the outpost of Al Wigh , several hundred kilometres south of Sabha , towards the Libya / Chad / Niger tripoint . On 28 August , three NLA soldiers were killed in the city of Sabha after they ran out of ammunition . Pro - Gaddafi brigades were joined by reinforcements from other towns . On the same day , Colonel Bani of the NLA forces said that they would " advance on " Sabha after taking control of Sirte on the coast . On 4 September , NLA forces claimed that they had surrounded Sabha . The city would receive humanitarian aid but has one week to surrender . On 19 September , spokesman for NTC Ministry of Defence , Col . Ahmed Bani , announced at a press conference that NTC fighters managed to capture Sabha airport and fort . There was no immediate independent verification of his claims . On 20 September , NTC forces entered the city of Sabha , taking the city center with little resistance . A CNN reporter accompanied NTC forces , confirming the reports . An NTC military spokesman in Benghazi said Sabha Airport was under the control of anti - Gaddafi fighters , but fighting was continuing in some quarters of the city proper . Brak . On 14 September , an NTC Commander said an anti - Gaddafi column 500 strong ( coming from the north / Mizda region ) had captured the military air - base at Brak in south - central Libya , some 50 kilometres north of Sabha . The NTC commander ( Ahamda Almagri ) also said two Gaddafi loyalists were arrested , while 70 loyalists fled the air - base , the second - largest in the south of Libya . On the morning of 15 September , anti - Gaddafi forces entered the city itself where fighting erupted . On 16 September , anti - Gaddafi forces had taken control over the towns of Brak and Gira , just 50 kilometers north of Sabha . During the fighting , incoming rocket fire struck the airbase , that the rebels captured the day before , which ignited the underground ammunition stores that held thousands of artillery rounds causing massive explosions . A day later , on 17 September , the rest of the towns in Wadi al Shatii District were peacefully taken by NTC forces . Murzuq . On 21 September , after NTC forces have taken control of Sabha , Desert Shield Brigade spokesman in Benghazi said that NTC forces moved from Sabha south and engaged pro - Gaddafi loyalists in town Traghan , between Umm al - Aranib and capital city of district Murzuq . Ubari . On 22 September , an NTC commander in Sabha told CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman that his forces have taken control over the town of Ubari , the capital of the Wadi al Hayaa District . Ghat . By 25 September fighting moved onto the border town of Ghat where the last remnants of pro - Gaddafi loyalists in Fezzan were claimed to be stationed . At the same day NTC forces have taken control over Ghat airport , located north of the city and day later over city itself and Tinkarine border crossing with Algeria .