Ajdabiya أجدابيا Agedabia |
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Town | |
Location in Libya | |
Coordinates: 30°45′20″N 20°13′31″E / 30.75556°N 20.22528°ECoordinates: 30°45′20″N 20°13′31″E / 30.75556°N 20.22528°E | |
Country | Libya |
Region | Cyrenaica |
District | Al Wahat |
Elevation | 7 ft (2 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 76,968 |
Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
Ajdabiya /ˌɑːdʒdəˈbiːə/ (Arabic: أجدابيا Ağdābiyā, Italian: Agedábia), previously known as Agedabia or Ajdabya, is a town in and capital of the Al Wahat District in northeastern Libya. It is some 150 kilometres (93 mi) south of Benghazi. From 2001 to 2007 it was part of and capital of the Ajdabiya District. The town is divided into three Basic People's Congresses: North Ajdabiya, West Ajdabiya and East Ajdabiya.
During the Libyan Civil War, the city changed hands several times between rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces. Many civilians fled from the fighting, with one March 2011 report describing the city as a "ghost town." Libyan rebels appeared to have regained control indefinitely in late March after international airstrikes crippled Muammar Gaddafi's forces, in the first major turnaround for an uprising that a week earlier appeared on the verge of defeat.
Ajdabiya is situated in central northern Libya near the Mediterranean Sea coast at the eastern end of the Gulf of Sidra. It is located on an arid plain about 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) from the sea and is approximately 850 kilometres (530 mi) from the Libyan capital of Tripoli and 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Libya's second largest city, Benghazi. The city is the site of an important crossroads between the coastal road from Tripoli to Benghazi and inland routes south to the oasis at Jalu and east to Tobruk and the border with Egypt. Ajdabiya lies close to the Sabkhat Ghuzayyil a large dry region below sea level.