The Libyan Civil War, also known as the Libyan Revolution, occurred in Libya in 2011 when the revolutionary National Transitional Council (NTC) overthrew the dictatorial regime of longtime military ruler Muammar Gaddafi after an 8-month civil war. The war left up to 20,000 people dead, 4,000 missing, and 50,000 wounded, and, while the NTC succeeded in overthrowing the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the new Libyan Republic was unable to integrate or disband many of the armed militias, and the unresolved issues from the civil war resulted in the Second Libyan Civil War breaking out in 2014.
The Libyan Civil War had its origins in the Arab Spring protest movement of 2011, which was sparked by the start of the Tunisian Revolution. On 15 February 2011, inspired by the protests in Tunisia, pro-democracy protests began in the Libyan city of Benghazi, leading to clashes between Gaddafist security forces and the protesters. The protests soon escalated into a nationwide revolution due to Gaddafi's brutal suppression of peaceful protests, and the forces opposing Gaddafi formed an inteirm governing body, the National Transitional Council. The NTC was backed by NATO and the United Nations, which on 26 February 2011, froze the assets of Gaddafi and his inner circle and referred Gaddafi's crimes to the International Criminal Court. The UN then authorized member states to establish and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent Libyan aerial attacks on civilians, and NATO launched Operation Freedom Falcon to bomb Libyan military installations and civilian infrastructure to aid the NTC and the Free Libyan Army. The rebels rejected African Union ceasefire talks because of their refusal to include Gaddafi's removal.
The NATO bombing campaign turned the tide of the war, with the rebels holding off Libyan attacks on Brega. In August 2011, the rebels - aided by the NATO bombing campaign - launched an offensive on the government-held coast, capturing the capital city of Tripoli on 28 August 2011. Gaddafi's government collapsed as a result, and the majority of his family went into exile while he and the remnants of the Gaddafist cause moved their capital to Sirte. On 16 September 2011, the UN recognized the NTC as the legitimate governing body of Libya, and, on 20 October 2011, Gaddafi was captured and killed in Sirte. The NTC proceeded to declare the "liberation of Libya", and the war ended three days later.
The NTC became the new governing body of Libya, but it was unable to restore peace to the country as jihadist groups, local militias and tribes, and Gaddafi loyalists continued to engage in violent acts in the post-Gaddafi power vacuum. In July 2012, the General National Congress replaced the NTC as the new government of Libya, but, in 2014, after Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was ousted from power and the GNC replaced by the House of Representatives, the claimant GNC in Tripoli and the House of Representatives in Tobruk fought against each other in the Second Libyan Civil War.