Bani Walid بني وليد | |
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City | |
 Bani Walid seen from the castel of the city | |
 Seal | |
| Nickname(s): | |
  Bani Walid Location in Libya | |
| Coordinates:31°45′43″N14°00′50″E / 31.76194°N 14.01389°E /31.76194; 14.01389 | |
| Country |  |
| Region | Tripolitania |
| District | Bani Walid/Sof-Aljeen |
| Elevation | 1,591 ft (485 m) |
| Population (2013)[2] | |
• Total | 85,425 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| Area code | 322 |
| License Plate Code | 28 |
| Website | https://bwmc.ly |
Bani Walid (Anglicized:/ˈbæniːwɑːˈliːd/;Arabic:بني وليد,romanized: Banī Walīd,Libyan pronunciation:[ˈbæniwæˈliːd]) is a city inLibya located in theMisrata District. Prior to 2007, it was the capital of Sof-Aljeen District. Bani Walid has anairport. Under theLibyan Arab Jamahiriya, it was divided into twoBasic People's Congresses: Dahra – Bani Walid (الظهرة – بني وليد), and Zaytouna – Bani Walid (الزيتونة – بني وليد).
It is the home to theWarfalla tribe, the only city in which only one tribe resides. A campus of Bani Walid University is located in Bani Walid.[3][4]
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In the2011 Libyan Civil War, after theanti-Gaddafi forces capturedTripoli in August andSabha in September, Bani Walid, along withSirte, was one of two final strongholds held by forces loyal to the oustedgovernment of Muammar Gaddafi. There wereclashes between anti-Gaddafi forces surrounding the city and Gaddafi loyalists defending it throughout September and early October; the city was finally taken on 17 October.[5][6][7]
Finnish company Perusyhtymä (todayYIT) constructed in the 1980s a factory in the city used for the assembly of rifles and possibly other weapons.NATO reported that it had hit two "command hubs" in the city and one ammunition dump. It is possible that the latter had originally been built by the Finns. 200 Finnish engineers and other experts worked in Bani Walid. Some had their families in the area. The "dirty jobs" were done by around 2,000 cheap labourers from the Philippines.[8]
In Finland, the media found out about the construction of the weapons factory in 1994 and 2011. In the 1980s, Libya was the second-largest country of export for the Finnish construction industry, after theSoviet Union. In the early 1980s, Finns had about 20 major construction projects in Libya. In addition to the weapon factory, other Finnish constructions included streets inTripoli and the entire oil city ofRas Lanuf. A large number of Libyan architects have been trained with Finnish help. Construction export became more difficult after the UN set up a trade embargo in 1992. As late as 2008, a shopping complex designed by Finns was being built.[9]
On 23 January 2012, around 100–150 local fightersattacked the main NTC army base in Bani Walid, killing eight NTC fighters and wounding at least 20 others.[10][11] On 25 January 2012, Libya's defense Minister recognised the newly formed local tribal council, which overthrew the local NTC council, as the new authority of Bani Walid.[12]
In October 2012, a successful and controversialarmed campaign to recapture the city was launched.
The city is served by theBani Walid Airport, located 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) west of the city centre.
There is a public university named Bani Walid university a college:
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