Libya Revolution anniversary: 50 powerful photos of the bloody battle to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi
The fierce battle to topple Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi began with anti-government protests in the eastern city of Benghazi, and a "day of rage" on 17 February 2011.
The fierce battle to topple Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi began with anti-government protests in the eastern city of Benghazi, and a "day of rage" on 17 February 2011. The government orchestrated pro-government rallies in the capital Tripoli, as Gaddafi vowed to clamp down on the demonstrations.
A bloody civil war raged for months, until the United Nations Security Council imposed a no-fly zone on the country and authorised "all necessary measures" – code for military action – to protect civilians against Gaddafi's army. On 21 August, rebel fighters entered Tripoli with little resistance and two days later, made their way into Gaddafi's compound at Bab al-Aziziya.
Gaddafi himself escaped to his hometown, Sirte, where after several weeks – as he tried to flee to the south of the country – he was captured cowering beneath a drain and then killed by Libyan interim government forces, along with his son Mutassim.
18 February 2011: Supporters of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi kiss his picture during a pro-government rally in Tripoli, after an opposition "day of anger"Mahmud Turkia/AFP20 February 2011: Protesters hold a giant flag on top of a building during a demonstration in the seaport city of TobrukReuters23 February 2011: A Tunisian woman carries her belongings at the Ras Jdir border crossing after fleeing unrest in LibyaYannis Behrakis/Reuters28 February 2011: Men reach for bread from behind barbed wires while waiting to enter Tunisia after fleeing LibyaSpencer Platt/Getty Images28 February 2011: A rebel stands in the ashes of an alleged torture chamber of the former Libyan Internal Security Force in Benghazi. The notorious building was mostly burned in the uprising that drove Gaddafi loyalists out of the cityJohn Moore/Getty Images3 March 2011: A man surveys the damaged bedroom of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi inside his former personal headquarters at Benghazi's airportSuhaib Salem/Reuters3 March 2011: Rebels hold a young man at gunpoint between the towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf, accusing him of being a loyalist to Libyan leader Muammar GaddafiGoran Tomasevic/Reuters6 March 2011: A rebel gestures with a machete vowing: "We will kill Gaddafi," during clashes against pro-Gaddafi forces near Bin JawadAsmaa Waguih/Reuters9 March 2011: A rebel fighter fires a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in front of a gas storage terminal during a battle on the road between Ras Lanuf and Bin JiwadGoran Tomasevic/Reuters9 March 2011: Rebels attack government troops as a natural gas facility burns on the frontline near Ras LanufJohn Moore/Getty Images10 March 2011: Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, pauses during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli. He claimed Libya was preparing full-scale military action to crush the rebellion and would not surrender even if Western powers intervened in the conflictChris Helgren/Reuters19 March 2011: A supporter of the rebel troops fires a rifle into the air as she celebrates the news of the withdrawal of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces from BenghaziGoran Tomasevic/Reuters20 March 2011: Vehicles belonging to Gaddafi's forces explode after an air strike by coalition forces, on a road between Benghazi and AjdabiyahGoran Tomasevic/Reuters20 March 2011: A tank belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi explodes after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road between Benghazi and AjdabiyahGoran Tomasevic/Reuters22 March 2001: Crowds climb on a US Air Force F-15E fighter jet after it crashed near the eastern city of BenghaziSuhaib Salem/Reuters25 March 2011: A Ministry of Defence screengrab from a Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 shows an air strike on a Libyan battle tank on the seventh day of military action against Muammar Gaddafi's forcesCrown Copyright via Getty Images28 March 2011: Mechanics perform maintenance work aboard France's flagship Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the base for air sorties against targets in LibyaBenoit Tessier/Reuters6 April 2011: A rebel commander looks through binoculars as he talks on a radio near frontline positions outside BregaChris Hondros/Getty Images10 April 2011: Muammar Gaddafi waves from a car inside the heavily-fortified Bab Al Azizia compound in Tripoli, after a meeting with a delegation of five African leaders seeking to mediate in the conflictLouafi Larbi/Reuters16 April 2011: A wounded rebel fighter screams in agony in Ajdabiyah hospital after heavy fighting on the road between Ajdabiyah and BregaYannis Behrakis/Reuters18 April 2011: Foreign workers from Nigeria, Ghana, and other African countries pile in the back of a truck with their belongings as they flee the besieged city of MisrataChris Hondros/Getty Images18 April 2011: A rebel fighter moves through a hole in a wall near the front line fighting on Tripoli Street in MisrataChris Hondros/Getty Images20 April 2011: A Libyan rebel fighter runs up a burning stairwell during an operation to dislodge government troops who were firing on them from an upstairs room during house-to-house fighting on Tripoli Street in Misrata. This is one of the final images captured by Getty Images photographer Chris Hondros, who died along with British photojournalist Tim Hetherington during the operationChris Hondros/Getty Images21 April 2011: Colleagues react as the bodies of photojournalists Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros are loaded into a refrigerated truck for repatriation by an International Organisation for Migration (IOM) ferry at the port in MisrataOdd Andersen/AFP23 April 2011: A captured Gaddafi soldier is seen in the back of a pick-up truck as he is transported to a hospital in MisrataYannis Behrakis/Reuters2 May 2011: Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi leaves the El Hani cemetery in Tripoli after the funeral of his brother Saif Al-Arab Gaddafi, who was killed in a Nato air strike, raising questions about the role of Western powers in Libya's uprising against its leaderLouafi Larbi/Reuters22 May 2011: A view of destroyed buildings along Tripoli street in central MisrataZohra Bensemra/Reuters22 May 2011: Children look at a display of weapons and ammunition picked up after fierce battle between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi on Tripoli street in the besieged city of MisrataZohra Bensemra/Reuters7 June 2011: Smoke rises after coalition air strikes around Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in TripoliReuters8 June 2011: A rebel fighter kisses a mortar before firing it, on the outskirts of Zlitan near Misrata's western front lineZohra Bensemra/Reuters11 July 2011: A Libyan woman holds up ammunition while learning how to use a weapon from rebel army officers in BenghaziEsam Al-Fetori/Reuters23 August 2011: Rebels celebrate after overrunning the Bab al Aziziya compound – Muammar Gaddafi's Tripoli bastion. They destroyed symbols of a 42-year dictatorship they declared was now over and set about hunting down the fallen ruler and his sonsLouafi Larbi/Reuters24 August 2011: A rebel fighter fires his machine gun at a sniper as they make a final push to flush out pro-Gaddafi forces from the Bab al Aziziya compound in TripoliZohra Bensemra/Reuters26 August 2011: Libyans walk inside the Tripoli house of Aisha, the daughter of Libyan leader Muammar GaddafiGoran Tomasevic/Reuters27 August 2011: A Libyan rebel draped in automatic rifle ammunition stands guard near the entrance of Ras LanufEsam Al-Fetori /Reuters28 August 2011: Rebel fighters sit inside Muammar Gaddafi's private plane at the international airport in TripoliZohra Bensemra/Reuters28 August 2011: A Libyan rebel fighter holds ammunition from one of Gaddafi's munition dumps hidden behind a row of residential houses in TripoliDaniel Berehulak/Getty Images29 August 2011: Rebels celebrate the first Eid al-Fitr after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi at Martyr's Square (formerly Green Square) in TripoliYoussef Boudlal/Reuters29 August 2011: Onlookers at the crater left by a Nato air strike in a building at the Khamis Brigade HQ in TripoliDaniel Berehulak/Getty Images30 August 2011: Libyans stand around a concealed staircase leading to a tunnel at Hannibal Gaddafi's house in TripoliZohra Bensemra/Reuters31 August 2011: Libyan rebels pray in the middle of the road between Misrata and SirteFilippo Monteforte/AFP4 September 2011: Rebels inspect an airplane destroyed by a Nato air strike at the Bir Durfan military base close to Bani WalidCarl de Souza/AFP19 September 2011: An anti-regime fighter salvages weapons at a weapons and ammunition compound that belonged to pro-government forces in a village near Sirte, one of Muammar Gaddafi's last remaining strongholdsGoran Tomasevic/Reuters29 September 2011: An abandoned VIP airplane stairway is seen on a road at the airport in Sirte, after it fell under the control of anti- Gaddafi fightersAnis Mili/Reuters14 October 2011: National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters take part in a street battle in Muammar Gaddafi's home town of SirteMajid Saeedi/Getty Images19 October 2011: Anti-Gaddafi fighters investigate the study of a house belonging to one of the former Libyan leader's family members in SirteSaad Shalash/Reuters20 October 2011: A rebel fighter points a gun at Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi in Sirte in this still image taken from videoReuters21 October 2011: An anti-Gaddafi fighter exits the drain in Sirte where Muammar Gaddafi was hidingEsam Al-Fetori/Reuters21 October 2011: The interior of the drain where Muammar Gaddafi was hiding when he was captured in SirteEsam Al-Fetori/Reuters23 October 2011: Women celebrate the liberation of Libya at Martyrs' Square in Tripoli. Libya's new rulers declared the country freed from Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year dictaorship, saying the "Pharaoh of the times", was now in history's rubbish bin and a democratic future beckoned...Suhaib Salem/Reuters
