Wazzin

Wazzin (

Arabic: وازن Wāzzin; Berber languages: ⵡⴰⵣⴻⵏ, romanized: Wazen)) is a town in the western Tripolitania region at the western boundary of Libya. It serves as a border crossing to Tunisia. The town is located south-inland from the Mediterranean Sea coast, and is 360 kilometres (220 mi) west of Tripoli

.

Wazzin is in the desert near the western end of the Nafusa Mountains range, in the Nalut District.

History

Old town

The town is the seat of

fortress and granary

.

The Gasr Wazzin is surrounded by the old town district of present-day Wazzin, whose buildings are mainly gypsum based masonry. A network of tunnels is below this historic portion, and is reserved for women traveling around the old town, without encountering non-familial men.^[2]

2011 Libyan civil war

On 21 April 2011, during the

2011 Libyan civil war, anti-Gaddafi fighters took over the control of the border crossing and 13 pro-Gaddafi officers defected to Tunisia.^[3] Since then control has been in flux. The Battles in Wazzin

, the border, and nearby Nafusa Mountains are a campaign known as the 2011 Nafusa Mountain Campaign. The campaign has ended in a definite rebel victory with the capture of Gharyan, the last loyalist stronghold in the area.