Key Facts
- Start date
- 7 May 2018
- End date
- 12 February 2019
- Duration
- ~9 months
- LNA declared city control
- 28 June 2018
- Defending force (final)
- Derna Protection Force
Strategic Narrative Overview
The LNA initiated its offensive on 7 May 2018, imposing a siege and conducting airstrikes and ground assaults on Derna. During the early fighting, the Shura Council of Mujahideen dissolved and reconstituted itself as the Derna Protection Force. The LNA declared control of the entire city on 28 June 2018, though clashes persisted in the old city quarter, prolonging the campaign well beyond the initial declaration of victory.
01 / The Origins
Derna had long been a stronghold of Islamist militias in eastern Libya following the collapse of the Gaddafi regime. The Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna controlled the city and resisted the authority of the Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. The LNA, which had consolidated control over much of eastern Libya, launched a military campaign in May 2018 to bring Derna under its administration and eliminate the remaining Islamist armed presence.
03 / The Outcome
The Derna Protection Force continued to resist in the city's old quarter for several months after the LNA's June 2018 declaration of control. Fighting finally ceased on 12 February 2019, when the Derna Protection Force surrendered, ending the campaign. The LNA secured full control of Derna, eliminating the last major Islamist militia enclave in eastern Libya and consolidating Haftar's dominance over the region.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent