Misrata Military Council Misrata Revolutionary Brigades | |
---|---|
كتائب مصراتة المجلس العسكري واتحاد الثوار مصراتة | |
Active | February 2011-present |
Country | Libya |
Allegiance | Government of National Unity |
Size | 40,000+ fighters, 200+ Battalions [1] [2] [3] |
Garrison/HQ | Misrata, Libya |
Motto(s) | "مصراتة الصمود" "ليبيا حرة وستبقى حرة" |
Anniversaries | February 17th |
Engagements | Factional violence in Libya |
Commanders | |
Founder | Ibrahim Ben Rajib |
Brigadier General | Mohammed al-Gasri |
Mayor | Mohammed Eshtaiwi |
Spokesperson | Fathi Bashagha |
The Misrata Military Council, also commonly referred to as the Misrata Brigades, or the Misrata Revolutionary Brigades, [4] are armed units linked to the town of Misrata and its surrounding area, allied to, but separate from, the Libyan Army. They are the largest and strongest military unit in all of Libya, [5] [6] consisting of 40,000 fighters with over 200 battalions, making them the largest block of fighters. [7] [8] The Misrata Brigades played a large part in the Libyan Revolution, which overthrew Gaddafi, as well as the Second Libyan Civil War in which they fought the Libyan National Army as well as ISIL in Sirte. [9] [10]
The Misrata brigades, also known as the Misrata Military Council, originated during the Libyan civil war in 2011. Misrata, the third-largest city in Libya, played a critical role in the uprising against the Gaddafi regime. [11] Gaddafi had launched a brutal 3-month siege on Misrata, [12] with reports emerging of indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure, [13] extrajudicial killings, [14] and the targeting medical institutions and vehicles. [15] As the conflict escalated, local residents, activists, and defected military personnel in Misrata formed armed groups to defend their city against government forces. The Misrata brigades emerged as a collective of these armed factions, sharing a common goal of ousting the Gaddafi regime and supporting the broader revolutionary movement. [16]
The Misrata Brigade played a pivotal role in the Battle of Misrata during the Libyan civil war in 2011. The Misratan Brigades involvement began on February 24 when Gaddafi loyalists, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, attacked opposition fighters guarding the airport. [17] As fighting intensified, officers from an air force school near the airport mutinied, aiding the opposition in attacking a nearby military air base. The rebels utilized captured anti-aircraft weaponry against loyalist forces. In subsequent engagements, rebels claimed victories, destroying tanks, capturing soldiers, and pushing Gaddafi's forces back. [18]
Notably, on April 23, loyalists troops army began withdrawing from Misrata, and rebels seized strategic locations, including a vital overpass bridge. Street fighting and booby-traps left by retreating soldiers led to casualties on both sides. [19] [20] The rebels later captured the main hospital, where loyalists had been holed up, marking a significant advancement. By May 13, the opposition asserted control over all of Misrata proper, with clashes persisting in surrounding areas. The Misrata Brigade's resilience and strategic maneuvers played a crucial role in the eventual liberation of Misrata from Gaddafi's forces during this intense and dynamic conflict. [21]
During the Battle of Tripoli, the Misrata Brigades played a significant role in supporting rebel forces aiming to capture the Libyan capital. On August 21, boats from Misrata and Zliten landed rebel forces and arms in Tripoli, reinforcing the rebels already present in the city. [22] The rebels, joined by those from Misrata, advanced towards the Mitiga airbase. [23] On August 22, the Misrata local military council sent additional ships with fighters and ammunition as reinforcements to Tripoli. [24]
Notably, during Operation Mermaid Dawn, rebel forces advanced eastwards from Zawiya, entering Tripoli through the Janzur suburb. They defeated the Khamis Brigade at its headquarters in Al Maya before entering Tripoli proper. The Misrata rebels landed by sea in the north, providing crucial support to the ongoing rebellion in the city. In a strategic move, rebels from Misrata intercepted and hacked into loyalists' communications, revealing panic among Gaddafi loyalists due to the swift rebel advance into the capital. [25]
In the 2011 Battle of Sirte, the Misrata Brigade, aligned with the National Transitional Council (NTC), played a pivotal role in the opposition's advance. NTC forces, including Misrata fighters, reached the western outskirts of Sirte, encountering resistance at the Gharbiyat Bridge. [26] [27] They entered the city, and conflicting reports emerged about control. The Misrata military council initially claimed city center control, but opposition forces later withdrew for casualty treatment. In Abu Hadi, NTC fighters from Misrata engaged in retaliation actions, such as looting, for what the loyalist troops did to Misratans during the Battle of Misrata. [28] During the battle, Misrata fighters used an improvised steel-armored bulldozer. [29] The conflict led to Gaddafi's death, with conflicting reports about the circumstances, including a Misratan rebel fighter's account of Gaddafi denying involvement in the damage to Misrata and silently appealing not to be killed. [30] [31]
In the siege of Bani Walid, clashes erupted on October 2 between pro-government militias from Misrata and local militiamen when thousands of fighters surrounded the city. [32] [33] On October 3, three policemen were killed in Susa, with a fourth critically injured. [34] By October 8, thousands of soldiers surrounded Bani Walid, demanding the surrender of those responsible for torturing Omran Shaban to death, threatening to storm the town if the deadline wasn't met. [35] Shelling was reported, but Misratan commanders denied having artillery for use. On October 12, clashes between Warfalla tribesmen and Misratans in Sirte led to a night-time curfew. [36] Finally, on October 26, Misratan brigades aligned with the NTC successfully recaptured Bani Walid. [37]
In June 2016, the Misrata-led brigade launched a military operation against ISIS in Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, dubbed "Operation Bunyan al-Marsus". [38] [39] The operation involved fierce house-to-house fighting, initially slowed by snipers, explosives, and ammunition shortages. On October 7, 2016, Government of National Accord forces managed to separate the last ISIS-controlled areas in Sirte, cutting aid routes. [40] During the advances, secret tunnels connecting besieged areas were discovered. Senior ISIS leader Abu al-Baraa al-Masri was killed, along with two snipers. [41] By October 9, Misratan forces had encircled the 600 neighborhood, and militants surrendered, fearing use as suicide bombers. Misratan forces had earlier retaken the key Abu Grain position from ISIS, restoring the road link to Misratan positions in heavy fighting. [42] Aircraft from Misrata also bombed positions west of Sirte, the ISIS stronghold. [43]
As part of the GNA's Operation Volcano of Anger in April 2019, the Misrata Brigade actively engaged in the Western Libya campaign, mobilizing on the Tripoli frontlines to counter the LNA's attempt, led by General Khalifa Haftar, to capture the capital. [44] Throughout this operation, the Misrata militias played a crucial role in preventing the advancement of Haftar's forces. [45] In subsequent events, on January 28, 2020, a LNA Wing Loong II combat drone was shot down near Misrata, marking active defense measures against Haftar's forces. [46] Additionally, on April 19, a combat drone was downed near Misrata in Alwhaska, emphasizing the continued hostilities and Misrata Brigade's commitment to resisting the LNA in the Western Libya region. [47]
In response to the controversial meeting between Libyan Foreign Minister Najlaa al-Mangoush and her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen, the Misrata Military Council, a coalition of armed groups in Misrata, declared its revival and rebellion against Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah's Government of National Unity (GNU). Alarmed by the perceived foreign interference and dismissing the GNU's actions as traitorous, the council, led by Salah Badi, had threatened to intervene "by force" to remove those in power. [48]
The 200+ Battalions under the unification of the Misrata Military Council, officially joined the Libyan Army in June 2017. [66] An announcement was made, with PC deputy chairman Ahmed Maiteeq making specific mentions of Bunyan Marsous, the operation that Misratan Militias launched against ISIL. [67]
Model | image | type | Calibre | Origin | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
FN FAL | Battle rifle | 7×43mm | [68] | ||
Heckler & Koch G36 rifle | Assault rifle | 5.56mm | [68] | ||
Machine gun | Fully-automatic firearm | 14.5 mm, 12.7 mm | [68] | ||
ZU-23-2 | 23 mm, | [2] | |||
M40 recoilless rifle | Type of light artillery gun | 106 mm | [2] |
Name | Image | Country of origin | Type | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bayraktar TB2 | Turkey | Attack drone | Supplied by Qatar [69] [70] |
Name | Image | Type | Caliber | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
BM-21 Grad | Multiple launch rocket system | 122mm | [2] | |
Truck-mounted Grad launchers | Multiple launch rocket system | 122mm | [2] |
Model | Image | Origin | Variant | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
T-55 | Soviet Union | T-55A T-55E | [2] |
Name | Image | Country of origin | Type | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
MiG-23 | Soviet Union | MiG-23MLD | [71] | |
G-2 Galeb | Yugoslavia | [72] [73] | ||
L-39ZA | Czechoslovakia | L-39,L-39ZO Albatros | [74] | |
J-21 Jastreb | Yugoslavia | [75] | ||
Mi-24PM | Soviet Union | |||
Mi-8T | Soviet Union | [75] | ||
Mil Mi-24 Hind | Soviet Union | Mi-24A/Mi-25/Mi-35 | [73] | |
Mil Mi-17 | Soviet Union | Mi-17 | [76] | |
Aermacchi SF.260 | Italy | SF.260WL/ML | [77] | |
MiG-25 | Soviet Union | (Used in Libya Dawn) [78] |
Sirte, also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, almost right in the middle between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups and loyalty to former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Due to developments in the First Libyan Civil War, it was briefly the capital of Libya as Tripoli's successor after the Fall of Tripoli from 1 September to 20 October 2011. The settlement was established in the early 20th century by the Italians, at the site of a 19th-century fortress built by the Ottomans. It grew into a city after World War II.
The Libyan Civil War began on 17 February 2011 as a civil protest and later evolved into a widespread uprising. By mid-August, anti-Gaddafi forces effectively supported by a NATO-led international coalition were ascendant in Tripolitania, breaking out of the restive Nafusa Mountains in the south to mount an offensive toward the coast and advancing from Misrata on loyalist-held cities and villages from the north and east.
Khamis Gaddafi was the seventh and youngest son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and the military commander in charge of the Khamis Brigade of the Libyan Army. He was part of his father's inner circle. During the First Libyan Civil War, he was a major target for rebel forces trying to overthrow his father.
The National Liberation Army, officially the National Liberation Armed Forces of the Free Libyan Republic, formerly known as the Free Libyan Army, was a Libyan military organisation affiliated with the National Transitional Council, which was constituted during the First Libyan Civil War by defected military members and civilian volunteers, in order to engage in battle against both remaining members of the Libyan Armed Forces and paramilitia loyal to the rule of Muammar Gaddafi. Its self proclaimed chief commander was General Khalifa Haftar, although the National Transitional Council preferred to appoint Major General Abdul Fatah Younes Al-Obeidi as its commander-in-chief. It had prepared for some time in portions of Eastern Libya controlled by the anti-Gaddafi forces for eventual full-on combat in Western Libya against pro-Gaddafi militants, training many men before beginning to go on the offensive. They have battled for control of Benghazi, Misrata, Brega, Ajdabiya, Zawiya and 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.
Moussa Ibrahim Gaddafi is a Libyan political figure who rose to international attention in 2011 as Muammar Gaddafi's Information Minister and official spokesman, serving in this role until the government was toppled the same year in the Libyan Civil War. Ibrahim held frequent press conferences in the course of the war, denouncing rebel forces and the NATO-led military intervention, often in defiant and impassioned tones. His status and whereabouts remained unknown following the Battle of Tripoli in which the Gaddafi government was overthrown, although there were several claims and subsequent refutations of his capture. Eventually, in late 2014, it was discovered he was in Egypt before he was deported and fled to Serbia. On 12 January 2015 Moussa Ibrahim spoke publicly by video link at a political event hosted at the Committee Rooms Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London from an undisclosed location, also the Director of Private Security Company.
The Battle of the Misrata frontline was a battle during the Libyan Civil War between pro-Gaddafi loyalists and anti-Gaddafi forces on the western and southwestern outskirts of Misrata, the third largest city in Libya. It ended when anti-Gaddafi soldiers secured Zliten to the west and Tawergha to the south, establishing a significant buffer zone around the city.
The timeline of the Libyan civil war begins on 15 February 2011 and ends on 20 October 2011. The conflict began with a series of peaceful protests, similar to others of the Arab Spring, later becoming a full-scale civil war between the forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi's government and the anti-Gaddafi forces. The conflict can roughly be divided into two periods before and after external military intervention authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.
The Fezzan campaign was a military campaign conducted by the National Liberation Army to take control of southwestern Libya during the Libyan Civil War. During April to June 2011, anti-Gaddafi forces gained control of most of the eastern part of the southern desert region during the Cyrenaican desert campaign. In July, Qatrun changed to anti-Gaddafi control on 17 July and back to pro-Gaddafi control on 23 July. In late August, anti- and pro-Gaddafi forces struggled for control of Sabha.
The Battle of Tawergha was a military engagement of the Libyan Civil War that began on 11 August 2011 when anti-Gaddafi forces based in Misrata advanced southeast along the road to Sirte in the early morning and attacked Libyan Army positions in the town of Tawergha. It ended on 13 August when rebel troops, after capturing the town, cleared it of snipers and artillery positions threatening Misrata.
The Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade, also known as the Free Tripoli Guardian, was a unit of the National Liberation Army of Libya created during the First Libyan Civil War that merged into the Tripoli Protection Force. Originally formed in April 2011 in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, it later relocated to the Nafusa Mountains, then the closest frontline to Tripoli, before advancing into the city itself in August.
The Battle of Tripoli, sometimes referred to as the Fall of Tripoli, was a military confrontation in Tripoli, Libya, between loyalists of Muammar Gaddafi, the longtime leader of Libya, and the National Transitional Council, which was attempting to overthrow Gaddafi and take control of the capital. The battle began on 20 August 2011, six months after the First Libyan Civil War started, with an uprising within the city; rebel forces outside the city planned an offensive to link up with elements within Tripoli, and eventually take control of the nation's capital.
The Libyan Civil War began on 15 February 2011 as a civil protest and later evolved into a widespread uprising. However, by 19 March, Libyan forces under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi were on the brink of a decisive victory over rebels in Libya's east. That day, leading NATO members acted on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 which authorized member states "to take all necessary measures... to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding an occupation force".
The Second Gulf of Sidra offensive was a military operation in the First Libyan Civil War conducted by rebel anti-Gaddafi forces in August and September 2011 to take control of towns along the Gulf of Sidra in an effort to surround Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, which was held by pro-Gaddafi forces. The offensive ended on 20 October, with the capture and execution of Muammar Gaddafi and his son Mutassim Gaddafi, along with former defense minister Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr. The Gaddafi loyalists in the area were finally defeated when NTC fighters captured Sirte.
The Battle of Sirte was the final and most decisive battle of the First Libyan Civil War, beginning when the National Liberation Army attacked the last remnants of the Libyan army still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown and designated capital of Sirte, on the Gulf of Sidra. As of September 2011, Sirte and Bani Walid were the last strongholds of Gaddafi loyalists and the National Transitional Council hoped that the fall of Sirte would bring the war to an end. The battle and its aftermath marked the final collapse of the four-decade Gaddafi regime. Both Gaddafi and his son, Mutassim, were wounded and captured, then tortured and killed in custody less than an hour later. The month-long battle left Sirte almost completely in ruins, with many buildings damaged or totally destroyed.
The Battle of Bani Walid was a military operation in the Libyan Civil War conducted by anti-Gaddafi forces in September and October 2011, in an effort to take control of the desert city of Bani Walid from pro-Gaddafi forces. It began following days of force buildup on the part of the attackers, as well as skirmishes around the city.
The killing of Muammar Gaddafi took place on 20 October 2011 after the Battle of Sirte. Muammar Gaddafi, the deposed leader of Libya, was captured by NTC forces and executed shortly afterwards.
The 2012 Bani Walid uprising was an event which started on 23 January 2012 due to an incident in the city of Bani Walid in which the "May 28 Brigade" militia wished to arrest local men in unclear circumstances. The May 28 Brigade and their compound were then attacked by local fighters who then took control of the town. The incident, the combatants, and the motives of the two main belligerents — the May 28 Brigade and Brigade 93 — remain uncertain and contentious. The conflict was originally reported to be an attack by Gaddafi loyalists by local NTC officials. However, tribal leaders and residents have denied any affiliation with Gaddafi's remnants, stating their goal was the establishment of their own council in the city. Similarly Britain's Foreign Office has dismissed claims of this incident representing a pro-Gaddafi attack against the NTC, stating that this was a dispute between tribal leaders of the Warfalla tribe and the NTC.
Following the end of the First Libyan Civil War, which overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, there was violence involving various militias and the new state security forces. This violence has escalated into the Second Libyan Civil War (2014–2020).
The siege of Bani Walid was a military conflict in Libya.
Gaddafi loyalism, in a wider political and social sense also known as the Green resistance, consists of sympathetic sentiment towards the overthrown government of Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed in October 2011, and his Third International Theory. Despite Muammar Gaddafi's death, his legacy and Jamahiriya ideology still maintains a popular appeal both inside and outside Libya into the present day. Regardless, the Western sentiment has largely been that this continued support may contribute to some of the ongoing violence in Libya.
The prosperous port city of Misrata is home to Libya's largest and most powerful militias.
After the fall of Moammar Gadhafi, the commercial metropolis of Misrata with its militias became Libya's most powerful city.
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