National Liberation Army (Libya)

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National Liberation Army
جيش التحرير الوطني
Also known asFree Libyan Army
Commander-in-ChiefAbdul Fatah Younis (appointed) 
Khalifa Haftar (self-proclaimed)
Defence MinisterOmar al-Hariri (March–May 2011)
Jalal al-Digheily (May–October 2011)
Dates of operationMarch–October 2011
AllegianceLibya National Transitional Council
HeadquartersAjdabiya, Libya[1]
Active regionsLibya
IdeologyDemocracy[2]
Pluralism[3]
Secularism[4]
Islamism (factions)[5]
Size3,000 (initially)
17,000 (peak)
Allies NATO  
First Libyan Civil War

The National Liberation Army (

Ra's Lanuf as well as several towns in the Nafusa Mountains. They finally began the Battle for Tripoli
in August 2011 when they attacked from the west of the city, as well as fomenting an internal uprising on 20 August.

There were claims that there were 8,000 soldiers in Benghazi equipped with a substantial number of weapons captured from abandoned

anti-aircraft guns and several tanks.[15] The National Liberation Army had at least 3,000 soldiers after initial defections from the Libyan Armed Forces, and later more than 17,000 at its peak.[16]

The force was formerly named the Free Libyan Army, but it was changed at the end of May 2011 to "help better define the increasingly professional and disciplined military efforts to overcome the Gaddafi regime", according to a statement released by the National Transitional Council.[17] It uses the tricolour flag first adopted by Libya in 1951, which has become emblematic of the Libyan Republic and the revolt against Gaddafi; considering that the flag is the same sign of Libya's independence and freedom from the Italian occupation.

The NLA finally succeeded in defeating the last pro-Gaddafi remnants on 20 October 2011, during heavy fighting in Sirte,[citation needed] and captured Muammar Gaddafi himself, who later died of bullet wounds after his capture, effectively ending the Libyan civil war. The current status of the organisation following the Libyan provisional government's "declaration of liberation" was its reorganization into the Libyan National Army.

2011 transitional period and restructuring

As of November 2011, the National Transitional Council is in the process of restructuring the army, with military personnel who defected from the Gaddafi regime and former rebel fighters of the National Liberation Army forming the basis is the new Libyan National Army. Major General Khalifa Haftar was chosen as the overall commander of the new Libyan Army due to his military experience and loyalty to the revolution that overthrew Gaddafi.[18]

The Libyan Army only numbered "a few thousand" trained soldiers in November 2011, and was rapidly trying to train up new fighters who could keep the peace nationwide and deter rogue militias from acting without NTC orders, and was responsible for brokering a ceasefire on at least one occasion in November between warring militas from Zawiya and Al Maya.[19] On 1 December 2011, it was reported that the National Liberation Army was to integrate up to 50,000 former rebel fighters into the new Libyan national army and police forces, with the aid of French training, with long-term aims to integrate as many as 200,000 fighters from the brigades that had fought against Gaddafi during the civil war.[20]

In December 2011, Turkey agreed to provide training to the Libyan Army as it attempted to reorganize in the aftermath of the civil war.[21][22]

Also in December, large numbers of former rebels were being given jobs in the new army, whilst the government also announced that they would be free to join the special forces and the navy too. According to

Osama al-Juwali, the defense minister: "The idea is to inject new blood in the army which was marginalized by the tyrant (Gaddafi)"[23]

General

Khalifa Hifter said later that it could take between three and five years for Libya to field a capable enough army to protect its borders.[24]

Brigades

No reliable estimate on the total strength of the Army exists. Training camps are being organized in Benghazi, Bayda and Ajdabiya[25] attended by "thousands of men" according to a report of 3 to 6 March.[26] The opposition force taking Brega and Ra's Lanuf during an advance of 2–4 March was estimated as numbering between 500 and 1,000 men.[27] In the Nafusa Mountains alone there are up to 2,000 rebel fighters.[28]

After being driven back to the outskirts of Benghazi, the Free Libyan Army took the offensive once more on 25 March. In a string of victories the rebels retook the cities of Ajdabiya, Brega, Ra's Lanuf and Bin Jawad and were advancing to

Nafusa Mountains. In late August Rebels in the east were finally able to retake Brega and several other cities closing in on Sirte. At the same time rebels in Misrata were able to push out of the city and secured all surrounding towns, and rebels in the Nafusa Mountains were able to take most of the western coastline including Tripoli itself. Each soldier has also been given an ID card with photo, name, brigade-name, and their blood type. These ID cards are either in the form of paper in plastic slips or plastic cards.[30][31]

Some of the Brigades reported on by International journalists are as follows:

Suppliers

  • Egypt – Egypt has been reported to be supplying the rebels with mostly small arms such as assault rifles and ammunition.[64]
  • France – France has acknowledged having sent arms to rebels in the Nafusa Mountains. These are rocket launcher, MILAN anti-tank missiles and guns and ammunition that have been sent.[65][66][67]
  • Polish government supplied the rebels with anti-tank rocket launchers and military vehicles and officers of Polish Special Forces in direct operations.[68][69]
  • Qatar – Qatar has been reported to be supplying the rebels with various kinds of weapons including MILAN anti-tank systems and AK-47 rifles (as many as 400 such rifles have been estimated to have reached the rebels). Qatar has also supplied the rebels with camouflage and armored vests.[30][70]
  • assault rifles.[71][72]
  • United Arab Emirates – The United Arab Emirates had been reported to be supplying the rebels with Belgian FN-FAL rifles[67] and telecommunication network.[73]
  • United Kingdom – The United Kingdom supplied the rebel force with communication equipment and body armor in order to get the force more organised and define a central command structure.
  • United States – The United States is moving to provide Libyan rebels with $25 million in medical supplies, radios and other aid that would not include weapons as stated by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.[74]

Equipment

Tank captured from Gaddafi loyalists in Benghazi

The equipment of the National Liberation Army came primarily from abandoned Army depots, Libyan military defectors (notably in eastern Libya, Benghazi, Bayda, and Ajdabiya),[75] Egyptian Armed Forces, France, Qatar and the United States.[76][77] It is not exactly known what equipment was in use at the end of the war but reports from journalists reveal the following were in use (limited in some cases as in tank and armor because of unavailability of spare parts[78]).

Camouflage

Camouflage clothing was provided by Qatar. Rebels were also seen in Ajdabiya wearing the military fatigues.[30]

Pistols

Shotguns

Submachine guns

Carbines and rifles

Misrata militiaman with Heckler & Koch G36 rifle

Machine guns and autocannons

Sniper rifles

  • Russia OSV-96 Imported
  • Dragunov SVD
  • Romania PSL (rifle)
  • Truvelo 14.5x114mm and 20mm sniper rifles
    captured from the pro-Gaddafi forces

Rocket propelled, missiles and grenade systems

Vehicles

Aircraft

Note: Both the Soko G-2, and Mil Mi-2 were captured at Misrata Airport on 24 February 2011.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

Ships

See also

References

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