| National Liberation Army | |
|---|---|
| جيش التحرير الوطني | |
 | |
| Also known as | Free Libyan Army |
| Commander-in-Chief | Abdul Fatah Younis (appointed) † Khalifa Haftar (self-proclaimed) |
| Defence Minister | Omar al-Hariri (March–May 2011) Jalal al-Digheily (May–October 2011) |
| Dates of operation | March–October 2011 |
| Allegiance |  National Transitional Council |
| Headquarters | Ajdabiya,Libya[1] |
| Active regions | Libya |
| Ideology | Anti-Gaddafism Democracy[2] Pluralism[3] Secularism (allegedly)[4] Islamism (factions)[5] |
| Size | 3,000 (initially) 17,000 (peak) |
| Allies |  NATO Egypt[6] Qatar United Arab Emirates[7] Iran[8][9] |
| Opponents |  Libyan Arab Jamahiriya |
| Battles and wars | First Libyan Civil War |
TheNational Liberation Army (Arabic:جيش التحرير الوطني الليبي,romanized: jaysh al-taḥrīr al-waṭanī al-lībī), officially theNational Liberation Armed Forces of the Free Libyan Republic, formerly known as theFree Libyan Army,[10] was aLibyan military organisation affiliated with theNational Transitional Council, which was constituted during theFirst Libyan Civil War by defected military members and civilian volunteers, in order to engage in battle against both remaining members of theLibyan Armed Forces and paramilitia loyal to the rule ofMuammar Gaddafi. Its self-proclaimed chief commander was GeneralKhalifa Haftar,[11] although the National Transitional Council preferred to appoint Major GeneralAbdul Fatah Younes Al-Obeidi as its commander-in-chief.[12] It had prepared for some time in portions of Eastern Libya controlled by theanti-Gaddafi forces for eventual full-on combat in Western Libya against pro-Gaddafi militants, training many men before beginning to go on the offensive.[13][14] They have battled for control ofBenghazi,Misrata,Brega,Ajdabiya,Zawiya andRa's Lanuf as well as several towns in theNafusa Mountains. They finally began theBattle 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 abandonedLibyan army depots, includingAK-47 andFN FAL rifles,RPGs,SPGs,anti-aircraft guns and severaltanks.[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 thetricolour 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 theItalian occupation.
The NLA finally succeeded in defeating the last pro-Gaddafi remnants on 20 October 2011, during heavy fighting inSirte, and capturedMuammar 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 theLibyan National Army.
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 newLibyan 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 toOsama al-Juwali, the defense minister, "the idea [was] to inject new blood in the army which was marginalized by the tyrant (Gaddafi)".[23]
GeneralYousef Mangoush said on 5 January 2012 that Libya's new army faces major obstacles such as rebuilding bases destroyed during the conflict, as well as disarming militas that were not part of the new army. National Army commander GeneralKhalifa 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]
No reliable estimate on the total strength of the Army exists. Training camps are being organized inBenghazi,Bayda andAjdabiya[25] attended by "thousands of men" according to a report of 3 to 6 March.[26] The opposition force takingBrega 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 toSirte. However, after being in position for 48 hours, they were forced to withdraw from Bin Jawad and Ra's Lanuf again.[29] The front line was than in the region ofBrega and Ajdabiya for several months, with additional front lines inMisrata and theNafusa 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:
– Egypt has been reported to be supplying the rebels with mostly small arms such as assault rifles and ammunition.[64]
– France has acknowledged having sent arms to rebels in theNafusa Mountains. These are rocket launcher,MILAN anti-tank missiles and guns and ammunition that have been sent.[65][66][67]
– ThePolish Press Agency reported that unofficially thePolish government supplied the rebels with anti-tank rocket launchers and military vehicles and officers ofPolish Special Forces in direct operations.[68][69] – Qatar has been reported to be supplying the rebels with various kinds of weapons includingMILAN anti-tank systems andAK-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]
– Sudan supplied fighters in theNafusa Mountains,Misrata,Kufra, andBenghazi with supplies, ammunition, and weapons such asFN-FAL andAK-47assault rifles.[71][72] – The United Arab Emirates had been reported to be supplying the rebels with BelgianFN-FAL rifles[67] and telecommunication network.[73]
– 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.
– 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 StateHillary Clinton.[74]
The equipment of the National Liberation Army came primarily from abandoned Army depots, Libyan military defectors (notably in eastern Libya,Benghazi,Bayda, andAjdabiya),[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 clothing was provided by Qatar. Rebels were also seen inAjdabiya wearing the military fatigues.[30]
Zastava M93 Black Arrow anti-materiel rifle[80]Zastava M21 17.000 assault rifle[81]
Carcano bolt-action rifle
Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifleLee–Enfield bolt-action rifle
Kar 98k bolt-action rifle
AK-47 assault rifle (Other variants includingAKM,Zastava M70,AK-63,AK-74,AK-103, ChineseType 56,RomanianAIM andEast German MPi assault rifles)AKS-74U assault carbine
FN FAL battle rifle[82]
1B1 INSASM4 carbine
Norinco CQ assault rifle (a copy of theColt M16 rifle)FN FALsquad automatic weapon
FN F2000 assault rifle[79]INSAS LMGM16 rifle assault rifle/
HK G3 battle rifle (20,000 requested)[83]Zastava M02 CoyoteHeavy machine gun[84]M84Light machine gun[80]DP-28Light machine gunRPKLight machine gun
Ultimax 100Light machine gun
Daewoo Precision Industries K3Light machine gunPKMGeneral-purpose machine gunPKT re-purposed as portable machine gunsRheinmetall MG 3General-purpose machine gunFN MAGGeneral-purpose machine gunM1919A4 andM1919A6 Browning[85]M2 and M3 .50 calHeavy machine gun (Mainly mounted onTechnicals)DShK12.7mmHeavy machine gun[86] (Mainly mounted onTechnicals)NSV12.7mmHeavy machine gun taken off ofT-72 tanks (Mainly mounted onTechnicals)KPV14.5mmHeavy machine gun mounted onTechnicalsZPU (ZPU-1,ZPU-2,ZPU-4)14.5mmAnti-aircraft guns (Mainly mounted onTechnicals but also on wheeled carriages)
Hispano-Suiza HS.820 20 mm navalanti-aircraftautocannon mounted onTechnicalsZU-23-2 23 mmanti-aircraftautocannons mounted onTechnicalsGryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L 23 mm twin-barreledautocannon taken off ofpro-Gaddafi force planes and mounted onTechnicalsGryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-1 30x165mmautocannon taken off ofpro-Gaddafi force planes
RomanianM-1980/1988 30mmautocannon mounted onTechnicalsAZP S-60 57 mmautocannon
OSV-96 ImportedDragunov SVDPSL (rifle)
Truvelo 14.5x114mm and 20mm sniper rifles captured from the pro-Gaddafi forcesM79 Osashoulder-launched,anti-tankrocket-propelled grenadeRPG-7shoulder-launched,anti-tankrocket-propelled grenade launcherRPG-26
RB M57Yugoslavian shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcherSA-7 9K32 "Strela-2"MANPADS[87]9K11 Malyutka (Sagger) anti-tank missilesMILAN anti-tank missiles[88]9M123 Khrizantema supersonic anti-tank missiles
Carl Gustav recoilless rifle[89]SPG-9[90]B-10 recoilless rifle[citation needed]M40 recoilless rifle mounted on jeeps and pickups with roof and windshield cut off[91]Type 63 multiple rocket launcher (Mainly mounted onTechnicals) 122 mmmultiple rocket launcher salvaged from damagedBM-21 Grad then divided into 3 to 8 tubes and mounted onTechnicalsS-5 rocket UB-16-57UMP, UB-32 rocket launchersKatyusha rocket launcher mounted onTechnicals[92][93]AGS-17automatic grenade launcher[citation needed]F1 hand grenade[citation needed]RGD-5[citation needed]AN M18 Smoke grenade[citation needed]M2 mortar[citation needed]M1938 mortar122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30)[citation needed]130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46) 155 mm towed field gunM114 howitzer[94] | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "National Liberation Army" Libya – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
T-34 - At least one seized during the war and placed at the main square inGaryan, according toReuters. Current status unknown.[95]T-55main battle tank[86][96]T-62main battle tank[97]T-72main battle tankType 59main battle tankCenturion AVRE 105 mmmain battle tank, supplied byJordan2S1 Gvozdika 122 mmself-propelled artillery
Palmaria 155 mmself-propelled artilleryBMP-1Infantry fighting vehicle[86]BMP-2Infantry fighting vehicle[citation needed]BMP-3Infantry fighting vehicle - 10 delivered from pre-revolution order.[98]9P157-2 "Khrizantema-S" BMP-3 Anti-tank version with supersonic9M123 Khrizantema (AT-15) system with radar and laser guidance - 14 in service; 4 pre-revolution, 10 delivered in October 2013.[99]MT-LBuArmored personnel carrierBTR-60Armored personnel carrier converted toMRLS forType 63 multiple rocket launcherM113Armored personnel carrier withZU-23-2 23mmanti-aircraftautocannons mounted on topM577 command vehicle converted toInfantry fighting vehicle with2A28 Grom turret fromBMP-1 mounted on topRatel 20Infantry fighting vehicles with improvisedZPU-1Anti-aircraft gun mounted on top, supplied byQatar[100]
EE-9 CascavelArmored car - Captured or salvaged by the Zawiya Martyrs Brigade inSirteNimrArmored carHumvee - 200 donated by the U.S. Army in July 2013.[101]SA-6 GainfulSA-8 Gecko
RM-70 multiple rocket launcher[citation needed]BM-21 Grad Multiple rocket launcher trucks[102]AT-T[citation needed]S-125 Neva/Pechora[citation needed]MiG-21 Fighter jet aircraft – One MiG-21UM crashed after take-off from Benina airport due to technical malfunction.[citation needed]MiG-23 Fighter jet aircraft – one shot down by friendly fire over Benghazi.Soko G-2 Ground-attack and reconnaissanceMil Mi-2 light armoured utility helicopterMil Mi-14 Anti Submarine Helicopter[103]Mil Mi-24[104]Attack helicopter/Transport helicopterNote: Both the Soko G-2, and Mil Mi-2 were captured at Misrata Airport on 24 February 2011.
1Aeryon Scout Micro UAV[105][106] 1Koni class frigate[107] 1Nanuchka class corvette[citation needed] 2Natya class minesweeper[citation needed]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
