Libyan Armed Forces
 | Parts of this article (those related to the end of the Second Libyan Civil War) need to beupdated.(August 2021) |
| Libyan Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Arabic:القوات المسلحة الليبية | |
 | |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Current form | 2021 |
| Service branches |  Libyan Ground Forces Libyan Navy Libyan Air Force |
| Headquarters | Tripoli |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Mohamed al-Menfi |
| Minister of Defence | Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh |
| Chief of the General Staff | Mohamed Ali al-Haddad |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 (2012)[1] |
| Active personnel | c. 32,000 |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers | |
| Related articles | |
| Ranks | Military ranks of Libya |
TheLibyan Armed Forces(Arabic:القوات المسلحة الليبية) or theLibyan Arab Armed Forces(Arabic:القوات المسلحة العربية الليبية)[2]are, in principle, the state organisation responsible for the military defence ofLibya,including ground, air and naval forces.[3]
The original army under theLibyan monarchyofKing Idris Iwas trained by theUnited Kingdomand theUnited States.SinceMuammar Gaddafirose to power in 1969, Libya received military assistance from theSoviet Union.The Libyan military fought in several wars, including theLibyan–Egyptian War(1977) and theChadian–Libyan conflict(1978–1987).
After the2011 civil warand the fall of Gaddafi, the armed forces consisted mostly of local militias that were frequently created or ceased to be active and made temporary shifting alliances.[4]During 2015–2018, afterKhalifa Haftarwas appointed in 2015 by theLibyan parliamentinTobrukas the supreme commander of the armed forces, he unified many militias into a regular hierarchical structure in the eastern part of Libya that became known as the core of theLibyan National Army(LNA).[4]
As of November 2019[update],the regular core of the LNA (about7000soldiers) was complemented by Salafist militias and foreign mercenaries (about18000soldiers).[5][4]: 7 As of 2019[update],the internationally recognisedGovernment of National Accord(GNA) retained formal control of the militias nominally constituting theLibyan Army,while theLibyan Air Forcewas split into LNA and GNA controlled components.[4]Thenavalandcoast guardforces were mostly under GNA control.[6]with some coastal patrol boats under LNA control.[4]In 2021, all the armed forces branches (except for the Haftar's forces) were under command of the new President of Libya,Mohamed al-MenfifromGovernment of National Unityafter theSecond Libyan Civil Warceasefire.
Kingdom of Libya (1951–1969)
[edit]The United Kingdom of Libya officially gained its independence fromItalyon 24 December 1951.[7]The kingdom was later renamed as theKingdom of Libyain 1963.
Under the Libyan monarchy, there existed a federal army and local provincial police forces. The U.S. State Department reported in 1957 that the army numbered 1,835 men, while the police forces had around 5,000–6,000.King Idris of Libyaand his government relied on the police for internal security and were anxious to increase the size of the national army to 5,000 troops.
TheUnited Kingdomhad the primary role of training the Libyan Army, but theUnited Statesalso contributed to training a 1,035-man contingent and was considering taking responsibility for training the entire army.[8]The U.S. also supplied the Royal Libyan Air Force, coming to an agreement in May 1957 to supply Libya with 10Northrop F-5s.[9]
Libyan Arab Republic and Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1969–2011)
[edit]A group of young officers and soldiers led byMuammar Gaddafioverthrew King Idris in acoup d'etat on 1 September 1969.The King's nephew andheir presumptive,Crown PrinceHasan,was captured by the rebels and spent several years under house arrest.[10][11]
The newLibyan Armyunder Gaddafi's Libyan Arab Republic fought ashort border warwith Egypt in July 1977, sent several thousand troops to supportIdi Aminduring theUganda–Tanzania Warin 1972 and again in 1978, and spent a decadetrying to annexparts of northernChadin 1978–1987.
The Libyan army was estimated to have 50,000 total troops as of 2009.[12]
Transition period (2011–2014)
[edit]During the 2011–2014 transition period, the Libyan armed forces consisted mostly of a shifting ensemble of militias being created and dissolved and creating and dropping alliances.[4]
Units
[edit] | This articleis missing informationabout most of the units of the 2011–2014 epoch.(November 2019) |
17th Thunderbolt Special Forces Brigade
[edit]- based in Tripoli (2013).[13]
27th Brigade
[edit]Leader: Mohammed Buzeiud; trained atBassingbourn Barracks,UK(2014)[13]
- based in Tripoli (2013).[13]
Second civil war (2014–2020)
[edit]As of 2019[update],since the start of theSecond Libyan Civil Warin 2014, the Libyan armed forces, composed to a large degree of militias,[4]have been partially led by the internationally recognisedGovernment of National Accord(GNA) inTripoli,while remaining highly divided between those nominally led by the GNA and those nominally led byKhalifa Haftarin command of theLibyan National Army(LNA) on behalf of the part of thenational parliamentinTobruk.[14][15]The forces included ground forces divided between the GNA-ledLibyan Army(including militia coalitions such as theTripoli Protection Force) and the LNA; theLibyan Air Forcealso divided between a GNA component and an LNA component; while thenaval,andcoast guardforces were mostly under GNA control[6]with some coastal patrol boats under LNA control.[4]
Prime MinisterFayez al-Sarraj,the head of the GNA, is nominally the supreme commander of the GNA forces.[16]The military is under the authority of the GNA Ministry of Defense, formerly led by ColonelAl-Mahdi Al-Barghathifrom 2016[17]to 2018, at which point Sarraj took over as defense minister.[18]
During 2015–2018, the LNA under Haftar's control unified many militias into a regular hierarchical structure in the eastern part of Libya and usedonline social networksto present the image of growing military and political power,[4]while still remaining, as of November 2019[update],dominated bySalafistmilitias and foreign members.[5]As of 2019[update],the LNA consisted of about7000regular soldiers and18000militia and foreign members.[4]: 7
References
[edit]- ^Libya – The CIA World Factbook
- ^Studies, Institute for Security."Libya's war becomes a tech battleground".Retrieved2023-02-10.
- ^Africa:: Libya -- The World Factbook.CIA.
- ^abcdefghijPack, Jason (2019-05-31)."Kingdom of Militias: Libya's Second War of Post-Qadhafi Succession".ISPI.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-06-29.Retrieved2019-11-09.
- ^abel-Gamaty, Guma (2019-11-07)."Militias and mercenaries: Haftar's army in Libya".Middle East Eye.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-11-09.Retrieved2019-11-09.
- ^abAbdullah, Walid; Aytekin, Emre (2019-08-27)."5 migrants die, 65 others rescued off Libyan coast".Anadolu Agency.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-11-09.Retrieved2019-11-09.
- ^Libya (1951-present).University of Central Arkansas.
- ^Shaloff, Stanley, and Glennon, John P. (1989).173. National Security Council Report (U.S. POLICY TOWARD LIBYA).Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Africa, Volume XVIII.Report originally published 29 June 1957.
- ^"The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast Page".Archived fromthe originalon 18 August 2011.Retrieved23 March2011.
- ^Administrator."The Senussi Family".24dec1951.Retrieved2017-09-21.
- ^Filiu, Jean-Pierre (5 October 2017).From Deep State to Islamic State: The Arab Counter-revolution and Its Jihadi Legacy.Oxford University Press.ISBN9780190264062– via Google Books.
- ^IISS, The Military Balance 2009, p. 256
- ^abc"UK trains Libyan army in fight against al-Qaida and warlords".The Observer.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-11-11.Retrieved29 December2013.
- ^Serraj appoints military chief of staff.Libya Herald.Published 1 September 2017.
- ^Delalande, Arnaud (4 August 2016).Great, Now There Are Two Competing Libyan Air Forces.War is Boring.
- ^PC President forms joint military operations room as war rocks Tripoli yet again.Libya Observer.Published 6 April 2019.
- ^Ayyub, Saber.Opposing reactions to appointment of unity government’s defence ministerArchivedAugust 18, 2016, at theWayback Machine.Libya Herald.Published 21 January 2016.
- ^Libyan Presidential Council gives its Defense Minister the sack.Libya Observer.Published 29 July 2018.