Global InformationLibyan National Army information
| Libyan National Army | |
|---|---|
| الجيش العربي الليبي | |
 Emblem used in official meetings[1] | |
| Also known as | Libyan National Army[2] Libyan Arab Army[3][4] Haftar Armed Forces[5] |
| Supreme Commander | Khalifa Haftar |
| Commander-in-chief | Mohammed al-Menfi |
| Chief of General Staff | Abdulrazek al-Nadoori |
| Dates of operation | 2014–present |
| Allegiance |  House of Representatives |
| Headquarters | Tobruk, Libya |
| Active regions | Eastern and central Libya |
| Ideology | Arab nationalism[6] Secularism[7] Anti-imperialism[8] Madkhalism (factions)[9] Gaddafism (factions)[9] |
| Size | 25,000[10] |
| Allies | 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] |
| Opponents | 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] |
| Battles and wars | Factional violence in Libya
Second Libyan Civil War
|
| Flag |  |
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.
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]
- ^ "Haftar agrees to Libya ceasefire ahead of Berlin talks". Middle East Online. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
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UNPanelExperts_S_2019_914was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Foreign meddling and west's impotence fuel Libyan chaos". www.ft.com. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ Kirkpatrick, David D.; Prickett, Ivor (20 February 2020). "A Police State With an Islamist Twist: Inside Hifter's Libya". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ Atalayar (3 August 2020). "Haftar warns that Libya will "never" accept "Turkish colonialism"". Atalayar. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
SANA_WhoWhom_Tripoliwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Forces on the Libyan ground: Who is Who". ISPI. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ "Libya: GNA calls Egypt's military threat 'declaration of war'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Khalifa Haftar: The Libyan general with big ambitions". BBC News. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ Vohra, Anchal (5 May 2020). "It's Syrian vs. Syrian in Libya". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ Pamuk, Humeyra (7 May 2020). "U.S. says Russia is working with Syria's Assad to move militia to Libya". Reuters. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "UAE, Saudi Arabia aiding Libya eastern forces, blacklisting Qatar for alleged support for other Libyans". The Libya Observer. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ^ Eltagouri*, Yousuf (6 May 2019). "Trump's Embrace of Haftar Will Reignite Libya's Proxy War | Beyond the Horizon ISSG". Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ "Boris Johnson backs Khalifa Haftar's fight against 'terror' in Libya". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ "Sudan crisis: The ruthless mercenaries who run the country for gold". BBC News. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ "Wagner, shadowy Russian military group, 'fighting in Libya'". BBC. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "France's Macron slams Turkey's 'criminal' role in Libya". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ Ash, Nigel (14 March 2017). "Abdulrahman Sewehli thanks Qatari emir for his support". LibyaHerald.
- ^ "300 pro-Turkey Syrian rebels sent to Libya to support UN-backed gov't: watchdog - Xinhua | English.news.cn". 29 December 2019. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ "Libyan parl't votes to ban Muslim Brotherhood, designates it 'terrorist group'". EgyptToday. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ "Libyan parliament confirms Haftar as army chief". Al Jazeera. 2 March 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
JPack_Kingdom_Militiaswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Sirte falls to Haftar's forces, thanks to a Madkhali brigade from the inside | The Libya Observer". libyaobserver.ly. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ Burke, Jason; Salih, Zeinab Mohammed (24 December 2019). "Mercenaries flock to Libya raising fears of prolonged war". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
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