On 22 July 2011, during the Libyan Civil War, NATO aircraft struck a facility in Brega that manufactured large-diameter pipes used in Libya's Great Man-Made River water system. The facility was part of infrastructure supporting the country's major groundwater distribution network.
NATO stated that the facility was being used for military purposes and that weapons and military equipment were present at the site. NATO described the strike as directed against military activity rather than against Libya's civilian water supply.
The Great Man-Made River transported groundwater from aquifers in southern Libya toward populated areas along the Mediterranean coast. Damage to the Brega facility affected the production and maintenance of components used for the system.
The strike occurred during NATO's air campaign against forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. NATO had been conducting military operations in Libya since March 2011 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which authorized measures to protect civilians and enforce a no-fly zone and arms embargo.
The available evidence therefore establishes that NATO struck a facility connected to Libya's water infrastructure. It does not establish that NATO intentionally targeted or destroyed Libya's entire water supply system. The distinction between the facility's civilian function and NATO's stated military justification remains central to accounts of the incident.
NATO stated that the Brega facility was being used for military purposes and therefore constituted a legitimate military target. No reliable independent investigation has conclusively established that the specific 22 July 2011 strike was unlawful. Amnesty International documented civilian deaths resulting from other NATO airstrikes in Brega and called for investigations into possible violations of international humanitarian law.
