Editing Muammar Gaddafi (section)

===Origins and development: February–August 2011===
[[File:Gaddafi Is a Butcher - Libyan Protest Meeting In Dublin.jpg|thumb|left|An anti-Gaddafist placard being displayed by demonstrators in Ireland in 2011]]

Following the start of the [[Arab Spring]] in 2011, Gaddafi spoke out in favour of Tunisian President [[Zine El Abidine Ben Ali]], then threatened by the [[Tunisian Revolution]]. He suggested that Tunisia's people would be satisfied if Ben Ali introduced a ''Jamahiriyah'' system there.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=278}} Fearing domestic protest, Libya's government implemented preventive measures by reducing [[food prices]], purging the army leadership of potential defectors, and releasing several Islamist prisoners.{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=282–283}} This proved ineffective, and on 17 February 2011, major protests broke out against Gaddafi's government. Unlike Tunisia or Egypt, Libya was largely religiously homogeneous and had no strong Islamist movement, but there was widespread dissatisfaction with the corruption and entrenched systems of patronage, while unemployment had reached around 30 percent.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=231|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=279–281}}

Accusing the rebels of being "drugged" and linked to al-Qaeda, Gaddafi proclaimed that he would die a [[martyr]] rather than leave Libya.{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|p=242}} As he announced that the rebels would be "hunted down street by street, house by house and wardrobe by wardrobe",{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|pp=242–243}} the army opened fire on protesters in Benghazi, killing hundreds.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=283}} Shocked at the government's response, a number of senior politicians resigned or defected to the protesters' side.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=2012|1p=284|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008a|2p=236}} The uprising spread quickly through Libya's less economically developed eastern half.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008a|p=236}} By February's end, eastern cities such as Benghazi, Misrata, al-Bayda, and Tobruk were controlled by rebels,{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=284}} and the Benghazi-based [[National Transitional Council]] (NTC) formed to represent them.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=2012|1p=286|2a1=Human Rights Watch|2y=2012|2p=16}}

[[File:Les femmes de Libye déchirées entre le régime et les rebelles (5764877039).jpg|thumb|left|Pro-Gaddafi protests in Tripoli, May 2011]]

In the conflict's early months it appeared that Gaddafi's government—with its greater fire-power—would be victorious.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008a|p=236}} Both sides disregarded the [[laws of war]], committing human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, [[torture]], [[Extrajudicial killing|extrajudicial executions]], and revenge attacks.{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|pp=17–18}} On 26 February, the [[United Nations Security Council]] passed [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970|Resolution 1970]], suspending Libya from the [[UN Human Rights Council]], implementing sanctions and calling for an [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC) investigation into the killing of unarmed civilians.{{sfnm|1a1=Sacerdoti|1a2=Acconci|1y=2011|1pp=61–62|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=284|3a1=Human Rights Watch|3y=2012|3p=16}} In March, the Security Council declared a [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973|no-fly zone]] to protect the civilian population from aerial bombardment, calling on foreign nations to enforce it; it also specifically prohibited foreign occupation.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008a|1p=236|2a1=Human Rights Watch|2y=2012|2p=16}} Ignoring this, Qatar sent hundreds of troops to support the dissidents and, along with France and the [[United Arab Emirates]], provided weaponry and military training to the NTC.{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|p=16}} NATO announced that it would enforce the no-fly zone.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008a|1p=236|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=284}} On 30 April a NATO airstrike killed [[Saif al-Arab Gaddafi|Gaddafi's sixth son]] and three of his grandsons in Tripoli.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Simon|last1=Denyer|first2=Leila|last2=Fadel|title=Gaddafi's Youngest Son Killed in NATO Airstrike; Russia Condemns Attack|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gaddafi-calls-for-cease-fire-as-nato-strikes-tripoli/2011/04/30/AF1jZsNF_story.html|access-date=21 January 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=30 April 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713201116/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gaddafi-calls-for-cease-fire-as-nato-strikes-tripoli/2011/04/30/AF1jZsNF_story.html |archive-date=13 July 2017}}</ref> This Western military intervention was criticized by various leftist governments, including those that had criticized Gaddafi's response to the protests, because they regarded it as an imperialist attempt to secure control of Libya's resources.{{sfn|Castro|2011|pp=308–309}}

In June, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and his brother-in-law [[Abdullah Senussi]], head of state security, for charges concerning crimes against humanity.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=257|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=286}} That month, [[Amnesty International]] published their report, finding that Gaddafi's forces were responsible for numerous war crimes but added that a number of allegations of human rights abuses lacked credible evidence. The report added that "much Western media coverage has from the outset presented a very one-sided view of the logic of events, portraying the protest movement as entirely peaceful and repeatedly suggesting that the regime's security forces were unaccountably massacring unarmed demonstrators".<ref name="AmnestyRape">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/amnesty-questions-claim-that-gaddafi-ordered-rape-as-weapon-of-war-2302037.html|title=Amnesty Questions Claim That Gaddafi Ordered Rape as Weapon of War|date=24 June 2011|work=The Independent|location=London|access-date=26 June 2011|first=Patrick|last=Cockburn|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218024655/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/amnesty-questions-claim-that-gaddafi-ordered-rape-as-weapon-of-war-2302037.html|archive-date=18 February 2017}}</ref> In July, over 30 governments recognized the NTC as the legitimate government of Libya; Gaddafi called on his supporters to "Trample on those recognitions, trample on them under your feet&nbsp;... They are worthless".<ref name="INDtncofficialgov">{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/west-prepares-to-hand-rebels-gaddafis-billions-2314576.html | title=West Prepares to Hand Rebels Gaddafi's Billions | work=The Independent | location=London | date=16 July 2011 | access-date=16 July 2011 | first=Justin | last=Vela | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512101059/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/west-prepares-to-hand-rebels-gaddafis-billions-2314576.html | archive-date=12 May 2012 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}</ref> In August, the [[Arab League]] recognized the NTC as "the legitimate representative of the Libyan state".<ref name="taipeitimmes20110826">{{cite web |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/08/26/2003511688 |title=Arab League Gives Its Full Backing to Libya's Rebel Council |work=The Taipei Times |date=26 August 2011 |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221153/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/08/26/2003511688 |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}</ref>

Aided by NATO air cover, the rebel militia pushed westward, defeating loyalist armies and securing control of the centre of the country.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=285}} Gaining the support of [[Amazigh]] ([[Berberism|Berber]]) communities of the [[Nafusa Mountains]], who had long been persecuted as non-Arabic speakers under Gaddafi, the NTC armies surrounded Gaddafi loyalists in several key areas of western Libya.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=285}} In August, the rebels seized [[Zliten]] and [[Battle of Tripoli (2011)|Tripoli]], ending the last vestiges of Gaddafist power.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=286}} It is probable that without the NATO air strikes supporting the rebels, they would not have been able to advance west and Gaddafi's forces would have ultimately retaken control of eastern Libya.{{sfn|Pargeter|2012|p=8}}