Qualla: Siege of Derna https://qualla.com/siege-of-derna en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:30 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Siege of Derna https://qualla.com/siege-of-derna Siege of Derna: Introduction https://qualla.com/siege-of-derna/ Two centuries after American Marines stormed its harbor in the Barbary Wars, Derna found itself besieged again -- this time by its own country's forces. Beginning in August 2016, the Libyan National Army under Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar imposed a blockade on this Mediterranean port city that would last 21 months, cutting off food, medicine, fuel, and hope before culminating in a bloody urban assault.

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/b/4/siege-of-derna-wp/stb4-siege-of-derna-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Siege of Derna: A City Between Armies https://qualla.com/siege-of-derna/ Derna had been contested ground since the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011. Various militant factions, including the Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna and remnants of the Islamic State, had established control over parts of the city during the chaotic Derna campaig...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/b/4/siege-of-derna-wp/stb4-siege-of-derna-a-city-between-armies.mp3 0:06 2 full Siege of Derna: Total Blockade https://qualla.com/siege-of-derna/ In August 2017, after militants of the Shura Council executed Air Colonel Adel Jehani -- whose plane they had shot down -- Brigadier Salem Rifadi, head of the Omar Mukhtar Operations Room tasked with taking Derna, declared a total blockade. His words left no ambiguity: no food, n...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/b/4/siege-of-derna-wp/stb4-siege-of-derna-total-blockade.mp3 0:06 3 full Siege of Derna: Bombardment and Assault https://qualla.com/siege-of-derna/ The blockade was punctuated by violence from above. In October 2017, an airstrike hit Derna, killing at least 15 civilians, including women and children, and wounding 17 or more. Inside the besieged city, factional tensions simmered: in December 2017, the Shura Council executed a...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/b/4/siege-of-derna-wp/stb4-siege-of-derna-bombardment-and-assault.mp3 0:06 4 full Siege of Derna: The Fall of Derna https://qualla.com/siege-of-derna/ The battle that followed the siege's end was protracted and destructive. From May 2018 through February 2019, LNA forces fought their way into Derna against resistance from entrenched militants who had spent years fortifying positions. By 12 February 2019, the LNA declared the ci...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/b/4/siege-of-derna-wp/stb4-siege-of-derna-the-fall-of-derna.mp3 0:06 5 full