2011 military intervention in Libya

Overview

On 19 March 2011, a NATO-led coalition began a military intervention into the ongoing Libyan Civil War to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. The UN Security Council passed the resolution with ten votes in favour and five abstentions, with the stated intent to have "an immediate ceasefire in Libya, including an end to the current attacks against civilians, which it said might constitute 'crimes against humanity' ... [imposing] a ban on all flights in the country's airspace – a no-fly zone – and tightened sanctions on Muammar Gaddafi's government and its supporters."

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The NATO-led intervention, launched on 19 March 2011 under UN Security Council Resolution 1973, introduced external military force into the Libyan Civil War with the stated mandate to protect civilians from attacks by Muammar Gaddafi's government. The resolution passed with ten votes in favour and five abstentions, authorizing a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace and tightening sanctions against the Gaddafi government and its supporters. The intervention marked one of the more expansive applications of the UN's civilian protection mandate in the post-Cold War era, drawing in senior political and military leadership from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and NATO collectively. Recorded casualties on the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya side reached at least 1,000, reflecting the sustained pressure the coalition brought to bear on Gaddafi's forces over the course of the campaign.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (24)