| Raid on Ras Lanuf | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofLibyan Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| About 60 refinery workers[1] Unknown number of fighters | 15 saboteurs[2] Up to 150 fighters[3] 14–40 vehicles[1][3] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 15–17 fighters killed,[3] 2 workers wounded[1] | Unknown* | ||||||
| *One NTC source claimed 15 loyalists were killed and 10 captured,[2] but later reports made no mention of pro-Gaddafi losses[1][3] | |||||||
Theraid onRas Lanuf was ahit-and-run attack carried out in the early morning of 12 September 2011[4] by two groups of fighters loyal toMuammar Gaddafi in an apparently coordinated effort to disrupt oil refinery and export operations in theNational Transitional Council-administered port town ofRa's Lanuf,Libya, during theLibyan Civil War.
According to ColonelHamid Hassy, 15 people working at the oil terminal in Ra's Lanuf acted asarsonists, setting fire to the oil facility. They clashed withanti-Gaddafi security forces, and five were killed while the rest were arrested, Hasi said.[2]The New York Times was unable to confirm this series of events, which was initially reported by theAssociated Press.[3]
Fadl-Allah Haroun, another anti-Gaddafi commander, reported that a convoy of up to 40 vehicles, reportedly flying thetricolour flag toappear friendly, apparently moving out of a refugee camp 30 km south of Ra's Lanuf attacked the port. He said that 10 pro-Gaddafi attackers were killed in the ensuing shootout, and the pro-Gaddafi forces were forced to retreat.[2] A refinery worker's story differed slightly, saying 14 or 15 trucks carrying pro-Gaddafi fighters had come from the west, perhaps from the loyalist stronghold ofSirte, and attacked the refinery as its 60 staff members slept. There was also no mention of casualties among the attacking force.[1] The fighting reportedly was heaviest around the administration building, with rocket attacks being launched against the refinery, but much of the complex was unscathed.[4] A spokesman for the NTC said 15 to 17 anti-Gaddafi fighters were killed in the attack.[3] There were no further reports of fighting in the city.
Benghazi-based ColonelAhmed Omar Bani said defenders in Ra's Lanuf reported the attackers "did not look like Libyans" and suggested they could be refugees paid to fight by well-monied Gaddafi loyalists.[3]
30°35′12″N18°24′43″E / 30.58667°N 18.41194°E /30.58667; 18.41194