Rafallah al-Sahati Brigade | |
---|---|
كتيبة راف الله السحاتي | |
Active regions | Eastern Libya |
Ideology | Islamism |
Size | ~1,000 |
Part of | Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries |
Allies | Ansar al-Sharia |
Opponents | Operation Dignity coalition |
Battles and wars | Libyan Civil War Post-civil war violence in Libya 2014 Libyan conflict |
The Rafallah Sahati Brigade is named after one of the first Libyans to die while fighting Gaddafi's forces in March 2011 in Benghazi. The group began as a battalion of the 17 February Martyrs brigade, before expanding to become a group in its own right. Its members are estimated at 1,000 with presence in eastern Libya and in Kufra. The brigade took part in securing the national elections and other Ministry of Defence operations in eastern Libya. It has denounced the killing of the US ambassador in Benghazi. [1]
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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.
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