Zawiya , officially Zawia (, transliteration: Az Zāwiyaẗ, or Zavia, variants: Az Zawiyah Al Gharbiyah, Ḩārat az Zāwiyah, Al Ḩārah, El-Hára and Haraf Az Zāwīyah), is a city in northwestern Libya, situated on the Libyan coastline of the Mediterranean Sea about west of Tripoli, in the historic region of Tripolitania. Zawiya is the capital of the Zawiya District. Overview In the Libyan censuses of 1973 and 1984, the city counted about 91,603 inhabitants; it was then – and possibly continues to be today – the fifth largest city in Libya by population (after Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Bayda). In 2011, Zawiya was estimated to have a population of about 200,000 people, most of whom were concentrated in the city. Zawiya has a university named Al Zawiya University, founded in 1988. There is also an oil field near the city and Zawiya has one of the two most important oil refineries in Libya. 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. Climate Zawiya has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh). History During the era of the Ottoman administration, Al-Zawiya was a second-class district that included the districts of Al-Ajilat, Zuwara and Al-Hawd. It was decided in the year 1879 to establish two districts in Zuwara and Al-Ajilat. Al-Hawd District was formed in 1876. During the era of the Italian administration, Al-Zawiya district remained affiliated to the capital, Tripoli. Despite this, it retained a kind of independence. During the period of the monarchy, it became a governorate, then a municipality, then a popular one during the era of the Jamahiriya, and a major administrative region after the February 17 revolution. Its borders extend from the Tunisian border in the west (Ras Ajdir) to Janzour in the east and includes several cities within its scope. Al-Zawiya was an important base for the Libyan resistance to the Italian invasion, and the events of Al-Zawiya were important and an indication of the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's rule during the February 17 revolution. Libyan civil war During the first Libyan Civil War, severe fighting between the Libyan opposition and the government of Muammar Gaddafi took place in and around the city. In a phone call specifically aimed at its residents, Gaddafi said the protesters were young people that had been duped