ORDER OF BATTLE // December 30, 2017
Fourth Battle of Benghazi
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 27,014 estimated
Libyan National Army
25,000
Medium-confidence figure
Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries
2,014
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Fourth Battle of Benghazi marked the conclusion of a protracted urban struggle that had consumed the city from October 2014 through December 2017. The engagement was a direct outgrowth of the failed Benina Airport Offensive by the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, which had allowed Libyan National Army forces under Khalifa Haftar to regroup and push deep into Benghazi. Over the course of the multi-year contest, the LNA sustained approximately 5,000 casualties while fielding a force of roughly 25,000 against a Shura Council contingent of around 2,000. The battle pitted the LNA and affiliated paramilitaries against the Shura Council, the Islamic State in Libya, and their allies, making Benghazi a focal point of the broader factional conflict defining the Second Libyan Civil War. Bringing the city under LNA control represented a significant consolidation of Haftar's eastern Libyan position and removed a major armed opposition presence from Libya's second-largest urban center.
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