Battle of Traghan
Battle of Traghan | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Second Libyan Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Libyan National Army |
ISIL and/or CCMSR | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Lt. Col. Khalid Masoud Rahoma † Col. Juma al-Thabet (WIA) | Unknown | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
10th Infantry Brigade
| Unknown | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown |
Unknown number of fighters 1 armoured vehicle 10 cars | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 killed 13 wounded 24–34 vehicles captured | unknown |
The Battle of Traghan was fought between the Libyan National Army and a Chadian armed group in Traghan on 27 December 2018.
Background
After the
Battle
On 27 December 2018, Chadian irregulars launched a surprise attack on a camp of the Khalifa Haftar-loyal Libyan National Army's 10th Infantry Brigade in Traghan.[3] The militants who were described as being well-trained,[4] used 10 cars and one armored vehicle to initially overrun part of the camp, including its headquarters, where they killed the commander of the brigade's Battalion 181, Lieutenant Colonel Khalid Masoud Rahoma.[5] The assistant commander of the LNA garrison, Colonel Juma al-Thabet, was wounded and captured by the irregulars.[4]
The surprised garrison troops rallied, however, and with the support of local civilians launched a counter-attack.[5] Besides al-Thabet, twelve other soldiers were also wounded amid the fighting. After about two to three hours of combat, the Chadians were forced to retreat under heavy fire by mid-day.[3][4][5][6][7] They left Colonel al-Thabet behind,[4] but managed to retreat with 24 to 34 captured military vehicles.[2][4][3]
Aftermath
In response to the attack, Traghan's LNA garrison began a security sweep in the area, hoping to find and eliminate the attackers. The LNA soldiers tracked the Chadians,
Various Libyan political factions[3] as well as local residents condemned the attack, while one Chadian opposition group, the "Chadian People's Revolutionary Army", claimed on behalf of the Chadian opposition that no Chadians had been involved in the fighting.[5] The LNA increased its presence in the region due to the battle at Traghan.[3] On 2 January 2019, Khalifa Haftar sent additional troops to southern Libya,[8] and the LNA launched an offensive to evict rival forces, including Chadian militias, from the area in mid-January.[3]
References
- ^ Andrew McGregor (7 September 2017). "Rebel or Mercenary? A Profile of Chad's General Mahamat Mahdi Ali". Aberfoyle International Security. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Tripoli issues surprise arrest warrant for Belhaj". The Arab Weekly. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Jamal Adel (19 January 2019). "Terror suspects killed in large LNA operation in south Libya". Libya Herald. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "الاستيلاء على 30 عربة مسلحة في الهجوم على معسكر تراغن" [Thirty armed vehicles captured in the attack on the Tragan camp]. Libya Observer (in Arabic). 28 December 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
- ^ a b c d "حركة معارضة تشادية تنفي الهجوم على معسكر اللواء العاشر في تراغن" [Chadian opposition movement denies attack on 10th Brigade camp in Tragan]. Alwasat (in Arabic). 29 December 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
- ^ "Armed Chadian group attacks forces loyal to Haftar in Libya | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR". www.dailystar.com.lb. Archived from the original on 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
- ^ Al-awsat, Asharq. "Chadian Gunmen Attack LNA Camp in Southern Libya". aawsat.com. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
- ^ "Supported by the UAE, Haftar seeks to control south Libya". Middle East Monitor. 2019-01-02. Retrieved 2019-01-05.