Sabha سبها Sabhā | |
|---|---|
 Sebha Bank from Kazem hotel (2010) | |
  Sabha Location inLibya | |
| Coordinates:27°02′20″N14°25′35″E / 27.03889°N 14.42639°E /27.03889; 14.42639 | |
| Country |  Libya |
| Region | Fezzan |
| District | Sabha |
| Elevation | 420 m (1,380 ft) |
| Population (2012)[1] | |
• Total | 99,028 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| License Plate Code | 1 |
Sabha orSebha/ˈsɛb.hɑː/ (Arabic:سَبْهَا,romanized: Sabhā) is an oasis city in southwesternLibya,[2] approximately 640 kilometres (400 mi) south ofTripoli.[3] It was historically the capital of theFezzan region and theFezzan-Ghadames Military Territory and is the capital of theSabha District.[4]Sabha Air Base, south of the city, is aLibyan Air Force installation that is home to multipleMiG-25 aircraft.[5]
Sabha was where the erstwhile ruler of Libya,Muammar Gaddafi, grew up and received secondary education and where he also later became involved in political activism.[6] After theLibyan Civil War and the resultant instability in the country, Sabha reportedly grew in importance as aslave auctioning town.[7] However, an investigation by the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) revealed that while there was illegal slavery, reports were exaggerated, as slave auctions were rare and not made public.[8] The city was seized by forces loyal to theLibyan National Army (LNA) and its leaderKhalifa Haftar in January 2019,[9][10] but some politicians in the area switched their loyalty to theGovernment of National Accord (GNA) in May 2020.[11]
In historical times, Sabha was a major centre of the Libyan caravan trade.[12] Sabha Oasis, near Sabha, was the test site ofOTRAG rockets, after launching was no longer possible inShaba North in Zaire (nowDemocratic Republic of Congo). On 1 March 1981, an OTRAG rocket with a maximum height of 50 km (31 mi) was launched. It was also a remote test site for the Soviet Space program from 1984 to 1991.[13]
In a 2004 report by theInternational Atomic Energy Agency, the Sabha base was linked with Libya's nuclear weapons program.[14] In September 2011,Anti-Gaddafi forcesseized Sabha as part of theFezzan campaign.[15] No sign of a nuclear weapons program was found.
In April 2017,BBC reported that there was aslave market for African migrants in Sabha.[16]
In January 2019, forces loyal to LNA leader Khalifa Haftar launched an operation to take control of Sabha and were able to enter the city by the end of the month.[9] On 29 January 2019, it was announced that Haftar successfully captured Sabha.[10] In February 2019, Haftar's forces were spotted patrolling the city's neighborhoods.[17][10] By May 2, 2020, politicians and activists loyal to the Tripoli-based government had announced their support of the GNA,[11] and the city is currently[when?] under the control of pro-GNA municipal governments.[18]
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Due to its location in the Sahara Desert, Sabha has ahot desert climate (KöppenBWh), with mild winters with a highdiurnal temperature variation, very hot summers with temperatures reaching 40 °C (104 °F) regularly and hardly any precipitation. The average annual mean temperature is 22.7 °C (72.9 °F), the average annual high temperature is 30.2 °C (86.4 °F) and the average annual low temperature is 15.2 °C (59.4 °F). June is the hottest month, having the highest average high at 39.2 °C (102.6 °F), the highest mean at 31.4 °C (88.5 °F) and the highest average low at 23.6 °C (74.5 °F). January is the coldest month, with the lowest average high at 18.9 °C (66.0 °F), lowest mean at 11.7 °C (53.1 °F) and lowest average low at 4.5 °C (40.1 °F).
Sabha receives just 8.2 millimetres (0.32 in) of rain over 2.9 precipitation days, with a no rain in July and August and extremely little precipitation during the rest of the year. October, the wettest month, receives 2.1 millimetres (0.083 in) of rainfall over 0.6 precipitation days. Humidity is low throughout the year, with April having a humidity of just 22% and January having a humidity of 42%. Sabha receives abundant amounts of sunshine, with 3526 hours of sunshine annually on average, with the most sunshine in summer and the least in winter. July receives the most sunshine of any month with 375 hours on average, while December and February both receive the least with 252 hours.
| Climate data for Sabha (1962–1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 18.9 (66.0) | 22.0 (71.6) | 26.1 (79.0) | 31.8 (89.2) | 35.7 (96.3) | 39.2 (102.6) | 38.3 (100.9) | 37.8 (100.0) | 35.9 (96.6) | 31.3 (88.3) | 24.9 (76.8) | 20.0 (68.0) | 30.2 (86.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 11.7 (53.1) | 14.4 (57.9) | 18.4 (65.1) | 23.9 (75.0) | 27.9 (82.2) | 31.4 (88.5) | 30.7 (87.3) | 30.4 (86.7) | 28.6 (83.5) | 24.1 (75.4) | 17.8 (64.0) | 12.9 (55.2) | 22.7 (72.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 4.5 (40.1) | 6.8 (44.2) | 10.6 (51.1) | 15.9 (60.6) | 20.1 (68.2) | 23.6 (74.5) | 23.0 (73.4) | 22.9 (73.2) | 21.3 (70.3) | 16.9 (62.4) | 10.7 (51.3) | 5.7 (42.3) | 15.2 (59.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 1.1 (0.04) | 0.8 (0.03) | 0.5 (0.02) | 0.5 (0.02) | 0.3 (0.01) | 0.5 (0.02) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.4 (0.02) | 2.1 (0.08) | 0.9 (0.04) | 1.1 (0.04) | 8.2 (0.32) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 2.9 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 42 | 37 | 31 | 22 | 27 | 27 | 32 | 30 | 27 | 29 | 38 | 40 | 32 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 260 | 252 | 269 | 275 | 304 | 341 | 375 | 361 | 295 | 284 | 258 | 252 | 3,526 |
| Source 1:World Meteorological Organization[19] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Deutscher Wetterdienst (humidity and sun 1961–1990)[20][21][a] | |||||||||||||
Sabha is famous for the Fort Elena castle,[22] which is the castle featured on the reverse of the ten dinarsbanknote of Libya. Fort Elena was previously known as Fortezza Margherita, built during theItalian colonial period. Currently the Italian-built fort is a military institution.[23]Sabha University is situated in the city. It has been involved with field studies in the desert.[24] There are numerous irrigation canals, which are used to provide freshwater for growing crops.[12]
The city is served bySabha Airport, which underwent expansion in the late 1970s.[25] An 800 km (500 mi) long railway has been proposed from Sabha to the port ofMisrata for iron ore transport.[26]
In 2017, TheUnited Nations Migration Agency reported that Sabha had turned into a modern-day slave auctioning town. Each slave (mostly migrants from countries to the south of Libya, especiallyNigeria) was sold for around US$325, with reports up to 1000 such sales each month.[27] While this aspect of Sabha had been kept under check during the reign ofMuammar Gaddafi, it raised its head again due to the turbulence in Libya caused by the civil war. Most of the migrants came here escaping equally tragic conditions back home inBurkina Faso, Nigeria and otherneighbouring African countries.[7] However, the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) revealed that the media reports of slavery were exaggerated and that slave auctions were not public, as suggested by CNN.[8] The slave auctions which were discovered were revealed to be rare.[8]
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27°02′20″N14°25′35″E / 27.03889°N 14.42639°E /27.03889; 14.42639
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