Noor Images for <em>Time</em>
11 March, 2011
Rebels battle for Ras Lanuf, an oil-refining town on the Libyan coast, on 11 March.
Yuri Kozyrev
Yuri Kozyrev was born in Russia in 1963 and has worked as a photojournalist for the past 20 years, covering every major conflict in the former Soviet Union, including two Chechen...
Ras Lanuf, Libya
Rebels battle for Ras Lanuf, an oil-refining town on the Libyan coast, on 11 March. The uprising against the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had grown out of clashes with authorities in the east-Libyan city of Benghazi, in mid-February. Anti-Gaddafi sentiment was strongest in the east of the country, and Benghazi came to be seen as the rebel stronghold. Ras Lanuf had fallen to anti-government forces on 4 March, during their initial advance west, towards the capital Tripoli. After heavy bombardment by land, sea and air, Gaddafi’s forces retook the city on 10 March, and began pushing the rebels back. For some days it appeared that even Benghazi would be retaken. Gaddafi’s counter-advance was halted after NATO planes began bombing Libyan military targets, following a UN resolution on 17 March. Rebel forces began moving west again and by the end of the month had recaptured Ras Lanuf, though they would not permanently occupy the city until late August.
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