Wikipedia

Brega

This article is about the Libyan city. For other uses, seeBrega (disambiguation).

Brega/ˈbreɪɡə/,also known asMersa BregaorMarsa al-Brega(Arabic:مرسى البريقةMarsā al Burayqah,i.e. "Brega Seaport" ), is a complex of several smaller towns, industry installations and education establishments situated inLibyaon theGulf of Sidra,the most southerly point of theMediterranean Sea.It is located in the formerAjdabiya District,which in 2007 was merged into theAl Wahat District.The town is the center of Libya's second-largest hydro-carbon complex.[2]

Brega
مرسى البريقة
Town
Brega is located in Libya
Brega
Brega
Location in Libya
Coordinates:30°26′6″N19°40′1″E/ 30.43500°N 19.66694°E/30.43500; 19.66694
CountryLibya
RegionCyrenaica
DistrictAl Wahat
Elevation
[1]
75 ft (23 m)
Population
(2006)
• Total
7,000
Time zoneUTC+2(EET)

During theFirst Libyan Civil War,the town quickly fell to theLibyan opposition.[3]Government forces attempted to capture the town on 2 March but were repelled;[4][5]their attack on 13 March was successful, though rebels later recaptured it on 26 March.[6][7]In April the rebels were again driven out of Brega,[8]and a several-month long stalemate ensued. On 11 August 2011, the rebels claimed they had retaken the eastern part of Brega.[9]

Geography

edit

The assigned settlement near the refinery and oil terminal is known as Brega. The town was built in pre-fabricated concrete parts and designed by Greek architect and urban plannerKonstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis.[10]The town has about 7,000 inhabitants.

In reality, Brega consists of several urban settlements, several kilometres apart, mainly divided betweenOld Brega(or "Western Brega" ) andNew Brega(or "Eastern Brega" ). Adjacent to and south-west of the port, equally two kilometres north of the airport, lies "Area 1". Some 6 kilometres to the east, on the other side of the hydro-carbon complex, lies "Area 2". The original settlement of Brega, now partially abandoned, lies some kilometres to the south, to the south of the highway linking western and eastern Libya.[11]10 kilometres to the north-east of "Area 2" lies "New Brega", a purpose-built residential area for oil workers.[12]

Between "Area 2" and "New Brega" (with much sand between them) lies "Al-Najm University of Technology" ( "Bright Star University of Technology" ), which was founded in 1981.[13][14]

Brega lies surrounded by theSabkhat Ghuzayyila large, dry region below sea level.

History

edit

Battle of Brega (1941)

edit

Brega was the location of a brief but important battle in theWestern Desert Campaignof theSecond World War.On 31 March 1941, during the opening phase ofRommel's first offensive,the GermanAfrika Korpsexpelled the British from their partially prepared positions at Marsa Brega. This opened the way forRommel's drive to theEgyptian borderandencirclement of Tobruk.[15]

Battles of Brega (2011)

edit
Main articles:First Battle of Brega,Second Battle of Brega,Late March 2011 Libyan rebel offensive,Third Battle of Brega,Battle of Brega-Ajdabiya road,Fourth Battle of Brega,andSecond Gulf of Sidra offensive

During theLibyan Civil War,Brega found itself in the middle of numerous clashes between rebel and loyalist forces, as the front line shifted rapidly in each direction. By the middle of April, the town had changed hands six times in less than two months.

Early on in the uprising, anti-government forces gained control of the town and oil production facilities. Government forces attempted to regain control of the area on 2 March, but wererepulsed by the rebels.[4]On 15 March, government forcesretook Bregaduring their initial counter-offensive, as the disorganised rebel forces were crushed by the Loyalist's heavy weapons and air power.[16]On 26 March, after theUNimposed a no-fly zone which removed the threat of Loyalist air attacks, rebels advanced rapidly,taking Brega backfrom Gaddafi's forces[6]but were quickly forced to retreat after a Loyalist counter-offensive. By 31 March, the frontline had stabilised between Brega andAjdabiya,with rebel forces launchingnumerous attacks on the town,which all resulted in hasty retreats.[17]Eventually after pushing the Loyalists back from Ajdabiya, the rebels once again launched anassaulton the strategic oil town.

On 16 July 2011, it was reported that the rebels appeared to have taken Brega.[18]However, Reuters later reported ten rebels were killed and 172 wounded, and confirmed that the battle was still ongoing.[19]Rebel radio reports said that after three days of heavy fighting, aided by substantial NATO bombing, rebel units had bypassed the town – cutting off the garrison from its supply lines.[20]Libya's opposition National Transitional Council (NTC) said on 16 July that they were preparing to enter the oil refinery town of Brega "within days", even as they suffered heavy casualties in the offensive.[21]There was heavy NATO bombardment on the morning of 17 July, during which warplanes destroyed a large military vehicle storage area in Tajura, 30 kilometres east of Tripoli, that consisted of several substantial warehouses containing various military vehicles including battle tanks, armoured personnel carriers and ammunition. This was followed by intense street fighting in the town's northeastern area, with the rebels using heavy machine guns.[22]On the morning of 18 July, it was reported that Gaddafi's forces were in full retreat and that the rebels were clearing land mines before securing the entire town.[23]Before midday, the rebels claimed victory in the battle.[24]On 23 July, the rebels were still clearing mines while facing "negligible" resistance from a small remaining force of Gaddafi loyalists.[25]

According to the local council, the eastern part of the town of Brega was controlled by the AGF by 11 August, and by 17 August all three zones of Brega (residential, oil refinery, administrative) were under the control of the AGF. The UN Inter-Agency mission to Brega on 8 September accessed the residential (Old Brega) zone and visited the heavily damaged Al-Najm University of Technology. Population slowly started to return, although most of the inhabitants remained for a while living outside of Brega (i.e. in Ajdabiya) and commuting daily to check on their property and houses.

Other events

edit

On 13 January 2000, aShort 360aircraft leased by theSirte Oil Companycrashed 21 kilometres (13 mi) off the coast, resulting in 22 fatalities. The crash is thought to have occurred after the plane's engines were flooded with melting ice, after failure to engage the aircraft'sice protection system.[26]

Industry

edit

The town is the site of an importantoil refineryand serves as a major export hub for Libyan oil, being one of five oil terminals in the eastern half of Libya.[27]The oil refinery belongs to and is run bySirte Oil Company,a subsidiary of the state-ownedNational Oil Corporation(NOC). Sirte Oil Company is based in Brega. During the 1960s and 1970s, it was run in partnership with the international oil companyEsso.By the early 80’s, Esso had left, passing full control over to the Sirte Oil Company.

During the Libyan civil war, oil export and activities at the oil refinery have been brought to a standstill. By the end of February, throughput at the oil terminal had diminished from 90,000 barrels of crude oil daily to a mere 11,000. Many employees at the terminal had left, following rumours that the regime of Muammar Gaddafi was going to bomb the plant.[2]

Brega is the starting point of the 670 km (420 mi) Brega-Khoms Intisar gas pipeline.[28]

Transportation

edit

DuringLibyan Civil War2011, Marsa Brega Airport was damaged and inoperable.Marsa Brega Airportresumed operation in December 2013.

References

edit
  1. ^"Brega - Wolfram|Alpha".wolfram Alpha.
  2. ^abPaul Schemm, Associated Press (26 February 2011)."At Libya's Brega oil facility, employees are few and production has been slashed".1310news. Archived fromthe originalon 15 March 2012.Retrieved2011-07-17.
  3. ^"Hundreds flee Libya as Obama orders sanctions".This Just In.Cable News Network. February 25, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon February 28, 2011.RetrievedMarch 2,2011.Protesters took control of the eastern Libyan city of Brega and its oil terminal Friday, according to an official who works at the communications department for the Port of Brega.
  4. ^ab"Rebels fight off Gaddafi attack".BBC News.March 2, 2011.RetrievedMarch 2,2011.
  5. ^Pfeiffer, Tom (March 2, 2011)."Rebels retake Libya town, may seek foreign role".Reuters UK.Reuters. Archived fromthe originalon August 19, 2016.RetrievedMarch 2,2011.
  6. ^ab"Live Blog Libya - March 26 | al Jazeera Blogs".blogs.aljazeera.net.Archived fromthe originalon 26 March 2011.Retrieved17 January2022.
  7. ^p://news.sky /skynews/Home/World-News/Video-Libyan-Rebels-Retake-Brega-And-Ajdabiyah-After-Gaddafi-Forces-Flee-Amid-Coalition-Airstrikes/Article/201103415960556?lpos=World_News_Top_Stories_Header_3&lid=ARTICLE_15960556_Video%3A_Libyan_Rebels_Retake_Brega_And_Ajdabiyah_After_Gaddafi_Forces_Flee_Amid_Coalition_Airstrikes_
  8. ^Report from Canadian CBC of oppositions forces regaining New Brega in the beginning of April, specifying the division between the different parts of Brega.
  9. ^"Libyan rebels capture eastern part of Brega -spokesman".August 11, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon September 26, 2012 – via af.reuters.
  10. ^"Constantinos A. Doxiadis Archives".2011. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-26.RetrievedMarch 2,2011.
  11. ^"Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!".wikimapia.org.
  12. ^John Lee Anderson (3 April 2011)."Libya: Friendly Fire, Signs of Stalemate".newyorker.Retrieved2011-07-17.
  13. ^"Bright Star University of Technology-Brega (follow up)".university-directory.eu.
  14. ^"Bright Star University - Brega".wikimapia.org.
  15. ^Jarg Muth; et al."Erwin Rommel".Achtung Panzer!.Archived fromthe originalon February 23, 2018.RetrievedMarch 14,2011.
  16. ^"Libya: Gaddafi troops 'force rebels out of Brega'".BBC News.March 13, 2011.
  17. ^"Live: Battle over US budget".BBC News.March 31, 2011.
  18. ^"Brega Near Liberation from Gaddafi".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-19.Retrieved2011-07-16.
  19. ^"Heavy casualties reported in Libya fighting".Reuters.16 July 2011. Archived fromthe originalon March 5, 2016.
  20. ^Stephen, Chris; Smith, David (16 July 2011)."Libyan rebels win official recognition as their forces close in on Brega".The Guardian.London.
  21. ^"Libya rebels vow to take Brega" within days "".news.xinhuanet.Archived fromthe originalon 20 July 2011.Retrieved17 January2022.
  22. ^"Battle in Brega City Switches to 'Street-Street' Fighting".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-19.Retrieved2011-07-17.
  23. ^"UPDATE 1-Libya rebels say Gaddafi forces retreat in east".Reuters.18 July 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 22 September 2012.
  24. ^"WRAPUP 3-Libya denies rebel victory claim in Brega oil town".Reuters.18 July 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 22 September 2012.
  25. ^"Libyan rebels say resistance" negligible "at Brega".nowlebanon.Archived fromthe originalon 30 January 2013.Retrieved26 January2022.
  26. ^"HB-AAM Marsa el-Brega".ASN Aircraft accident Shorts.Aviation Safety Network. October 2, 2004.Retrieved2011-03-02.
  27. ^"Factbox: Libyan oil production, exports, customers".Reuters.22 February 2011.Archivedfrom the original on 2011-09-06.Retrieved2011-07-17.
  28. ^"North Africa Pipelines map - Crude Oil (petroleum) pipelines - Natural Gas pipelines - Products pipelines".Theodora /pipelines.Retrieved2011-04-05.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brega&oldid=1252620997"