Zawiya was the site of some of the fiercest fighting in the first Libyan Civil War, as it controls the vital route between the national capital Tripoli and the Tunisian border.

[8][9][10] In a phone call specifically aimed at its residents, Gaddafi said the protesters were young people that had been duped into "destruction and sabotage" with drugs and alcohol.

"[11] According to another report, regime violence began to escalate on the morning of 6 March 2011, and intensified in the following days – " Children have been shot while sitting in front of their houses, the hospital has been bombarded.

The main mosque that overlooked Martyrs' Square where the injured and dying were treated when Gaddafi's tanks and snipers moved in, had been "completely destroyed, not a trace left."

On 11 June, around one hundred rebels infiltrated the city and claimed that they won control of some sections, marking the first significant clashes between loyalist and opposition forces since it was recaptured by Gaddafi's troops in March.

[16] In early August, anti-Gaddafi forces launched an offensive into the plains surrounding Zawiya reaching the outskirts of the city but not holding positions.