The first
Libyan Civil War, also referred to as the
Libyan Revolution or
17 February Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011, in the
North African country of
Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust
his government. The war was preceded by protests in
Zawiya on 8 August 2009 and finally ignited by protests in
Benghazi beginning on Tuesday, 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security forces that fired on the crowd. The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the
National Transitional Council.