Libyan National Army
The Libyan National Army (LNA; Arabic: الجيش الوطني الليبي, al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii) or the Libyan Arab Army (LAA; Arabic: الجيش العربي الليبي, al-Jaysh al-'Arabiyy al-Lībii)[3] is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar when he was nominated to the role on 2 March 2015[24] by the House of Representatives, consisting at the time of a ground force, an air force and a navy.
See also: Libyan Army (1951–2011) and Libyan ArmyLibyan National Army
2014–present
Eastern and central Libya
Arab nationalism[6]
Secularism[7]
Anti-imperialism[8]
Madkhalism (factions)[9]
Gaddafism (factions)[9]
25,000[10]
State allies:
Egypt[11]
United Arab Emirates[12]
Syria[13][14]
Saudi Arabia[15]
Russia[12]
United States[16]
United Kingdom[17]
Non-state allies:
Rapid Support Forces[18]
Wagner Group[19]
State opponents:
Government of National Accord
Turkey[20]
Qatar[21]
Non-state opponents:
Syrian National Army[22]
Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries
Islamic State
Muslim Brotherhood[23]
- Battle of Benghazi (2014)
- Battle of Benina Airport
- Battle of Benghazi (2014–2017)
- Siege of Derna (2016–2019)
- Derna campaign (2014–2016)
- 2015 Egyptian airstrikes
- Battle of Traghan
- Gulf of Sidra Offensive (2017)
- Gulf of Sidra Offensive (2018)
- Southern Libya offensive
- Western Libya campaign
- Central Libya offensive
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In 2014, LNA launched Operation Dignity, a military campaign against the General National Congress and armed militias and Islamist militant organizations. When the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) was established in Tripoli, part of the Libyan military forces were named the Libyan Army to contrast with the other part that retained the LNA identity. In the Second Libyan Civil War, the LNA is loyal to that part of the Libyan House of Representatives that meets in Tobruk, internationally recognised until October 2015. It fights against the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, as well as Islamic State in Libya which is a common enemy for both LNA and the Libyan Army.
About half of the LNA consists of militias[2][25] including Madkhali (Salafist) militias[26] and Sudanese, Chadian[2][25] and Russian mercenaries, which together constitute part of the LNA's effective forces.[27] The LNA possesses its own air force. Most of the Libyan Navy is loyal to the GNA.[28][25]
Interventions in the political system by the LNA include the late 2016 replacement of nine elected municipal councils out of a total of 27, replacing elected mayors by mostly military individuals[29][30][31] and, according to witnesses cited by The Independent, the 17 July 2019 abduction of House of Representatives member Seham Sergiwa at her home in Benghazi by the 106th Brigade.[32][33] The LNA stated that it was not responsible for the Sergiwa abduction.[32]
Name[edit]
In November 2019, the United Nations Panel of Experts on Libya established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 started using the name Haftar Armed Forces (HAF) to replace the name Libyan National Army to refer to "all armed groups associated with Haftar". It also chose to use lower case regarding "brigades" and "battalions" in order to avoid giving them "the legitimacy of being a formed military unit of a government".[5]: 6
Allies[edit]
Haftar and the LNA is de facto backed by the governments of Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.[34][12][35][36][37] France has also provided tacit backing for Haftars forces. France carried out unprecedented air strikes by its Airforce on Chadian opposition fighters, which are LNA's biggest opponents. This resulted in a public dispute with Italy, which is supporting the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.[12]
Russia is Haftar's most committed ally. In May 2020 the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) stated that Russia had deployed at least 14 MiG planes to the country. The plans were supported by private military contractors of Wagner Group and supporting the LNA.[38][39][40]
Khalifa Haftar was made head of the armed forces of Libya on 2 March 2015,[24] remaining as leader of the Libyan National Army after the split between the LNA and the Government of National Accord (GNA). As of December 2017, Major General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori was the chief of staff of the LNA.[41] A lobbying firm was paid US$450,000 to lobby on his behalf for 12 months, starting 1 December 2017, in Washington, D.C.[41] Mahmoud al-Werfalli, known internationally for his International Criminal Court arrest warrant under Article 8(2)(c)(i) of the Rome Statute, was Axes Commander in the al-Saiqa unit of the LNA as of August 2017.[42][43]
Other senior leaders include:
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the . Country Studies. Federal Research Division.
