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The main fighting forces in Libya
TRIPOLI, Nov 10, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Since Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi was
driven from power and killed in 2011, the power vacuum has been filled by a
multitude of armed groups. Here are the main fighting forces.
West
– Tripoli
Three important militias support the Government of National Accord (GNA),
which is backed by the United Nations.
The First Force operates in the east and centre of the capital.
Based in the east of Tripoli, the Salafist militia Force of Radaa (or
Special Deterrence Forces) polices the city.
Its members arrest those caught trafficking drugs and alcohol, as well as
detain people suspected of belonging to the Islamic State group.
The Abu Slim Brigade controls the working-class neighbourhood of the same
name in southern Tripoli.
These pro-GNA militias last year ousted numerous armed groups loyal to
Khalifa Ghweil, head of an unrecognised government before the UN-backed
administration came to power.
Once driven from Tripoli, those fighters mostly returned to Misrata to the
east of the capital.
In September armed groups in Tripoli prevented militias from Tarhuna,
southeast of the city, from entering the capital. More than 100 people died
in a month of fighting.
– Misrata
The militias from Misrata, half way between Tripoli and Sirte, are divided
by their support or hostility for the GNA.
Those against the Tripoli government are allied with Islamist armed groups
which are loyal to Ghweil and Sheikh Sadek al-Ghariani, a controversial
religious figure.
MORE/MR/ 1020 hrs
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The groups from Misrata have a presence in both Tripoli and Kadhafi’s
hometown of Sirte.
– Zintan
Fighters from Zintan were driven from Tripoli in 2014 and withdrew to
their city southwest of the capital.
They are hostile to Islamists and have made clear their support for
Khalifa Haftar, whose self-styled Libyan National Army dominates the
country’s east.
Zintan militias control the oilfields of western Libya.
– The Amazighs
Coming notably from the towns of Jado, Nalut and Zuwara, the Amazighs
control the Ras Jedir and Dhehiba border posts on the frontier with Tunisia.
– The Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB)
The group is composed of Misrata militias and Islamist fighters who were
driven firstly from Benghazi and then Derna by Haftar’s forces.
– Sabratha
A coastal city west of Tripoli, Sabratha became a key departure point for
migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe.
It has been under the control of a pro-GNA Salafist group since 2017,
following the ousting of a rival militia headed by a people smuggling
kingpin.
East
– Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA)
The LNA controls most of eastern Libya, including the oil crescent and the
Egyptian border. The LNA is also present in the centre and south of the
country, including Kufra and Sebha.
In 2017, Haftar’s fighters pushed forces of the Benghazi Revolutionaries’
Shura Council out of the eastern city after three years of fighting.
Earlier this year they drove Islamist militias from the city of Derna,
which had been the only area in the east of the country out of Haftar’s
control.
The LNA force is made up of former officers from the Libyan army,
militiamen, fighters from allied tribes and Salafists.
Centre and south
The Fezzan region is known for its smuggling routes. It is a patchwork of
tribal forces and ethic groups vying for control of the trade and the oil
fields, as well as groups from Chad and Sudan.
– The Tuaregs
They control the borders with southern Algeria and part of the frontier
with Niger.
– The Tubus
Present in areas bordering Niger, Chad and Sudan. There are regular
clashes between the pro-Haftar Tubus and Arab tribes which support the GNA.
– Islamic State group
After being ousted from Sirte in December 2016, IS jihadists withdrew to
areas around the city and towards the south.
The group still poses a threat and it has carried out numerous recent
attacks in Libya, targeting security checkpoints run by Haftar’s forces and
well as state institutions.
In May IS launched an assault on Libya’s electoral commission in Tripoli,
followed by an attack on Libya’s National Oil Company in September.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1020 hrs