National Liberation Army (Libya)

Natıonal Liberation Army جيش التحرير الوطني الليبي
Active	March 2011–present
Country	Libya
Allegiance	National Transitional Council
Branch	Army
Size	17,000[1]
Part of	Anti-Gaddafi forces
Headquarters	Tripoli
Nickname	Free Libyan Army
Motto	Free Army, Free Libya!
Colors	Red, black and green
Engagements	2011 Libyan civil war
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	Suleiman Mahmoud al-Obeidi
Defence Minister	Osama al-Juwali
Notable commanders	Abdul Fatah Younis  † Khalifa Belqasim Haftar
Insignia
Identification mark
Aircraft flown
Fighter	MiG-23, MiG-21
Attack helicopter	Mi-25
Utility helicopter	Mi-14

The National Liberation Army (Arabic: جيش التحرير الوطني الليبي‎ jaysh al-taḥrīr al-waṭanī al-lībī), also known as the Free Libya Army,^[2] is a Libyan military organisation affiliated with the National Transitional Council, which was constituted during the 2011 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. 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.^[3][4] 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.

There are claims that there are 8,000 soldiers in Benghazi equipped with a substantial amount of weapons captured from abandoned Libyan army depots, including AK-47 and FN FAL rifles, RPGs, SPGs, anti-aircraft guns and several tanks.^[5]

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.^[6] It uses the tricolour 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 the Italian occupation.

The NLA finally succeeded in defeating the last pro-Gaddafi remnants on 20 October 2011, during heavy fighting in Sirte, and captured Muammar Gaddafi himself, who later died of bullet wounds after his capture, effectively ending the Libyan civil war.^[7] The current status of the organisation following the Libyan provisional government's "declaration of liberation" is unclear.

Contents 1 Brigades 2 Suppliers 3 Equipment 3.1 Camouflage 3.2 Pistols 3.3 Shotguns 3.4 Submachine guns 3.5 Carbines and rifles 3.6 Machine guns and autocannons 3.7 Sniper rifles 3.8 Rocket propelled and grenade systems 3.9 Vehicles 3.9.1 Aircraft 3.9.2 Ships 4 See also 5 References

Brigades

No reliable estimate on the total strength of the Army exists. Training camps are being organized in Benghazi, Bayda and Ajdabiya^[8] attended by "thousands of men" according to a report of 3 to 6 March.^[9] The opposition force taking Brega and Ra's Lanuf during an advance of 2–4 March was estimated as numbering between 500 and 1,000 men.^[10] In the Nafusa Mountains alone there are up to 2,000 rebel fighters.^[11]

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 to Sirte. However, after being in position for 48 hours, they were forced to withdraw from Bin Jawad and Ra's Lanuf again.^[12] The front line was than in the region of Brega and Ajdabiya for several months, with additional front lines in Misrata and the Nafusa 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.^[13][14]

Some of the Brigades reported on by International journalists are as follows:

• Obaida Ibn Jarrah Brigade – radical Islamist militia allegedly implicated in the assassination of National Liberation Army commander-in-chief Abdul Fatah Younis on 28 July 2011.^[15]
• Okbah Ibn Nafih Brigade – radical Islamist militia implicated in the detention of National Liberation Army commander-in-chief Abdul Fatah Younis in Brega's front on late July.^[16]
• Omar Mukhtar Brigade – Based in Ajdabiya and numbering 200 men and 10 trucks.^[13]
• Ali Hassan al-Jaber Brigade – Originally in Bayda, saw action during the Battle of Sirte (2011).^[17]
• Jabal Martyrs Brigade – Based in Bayda and numbering 125 men.
• Tripoli Martyrs Brigade – Based in Bayda.^[18]
• Battalion Libya Free – Based in Bayda.^[18]
• Bayda Martyrs Brigade – Based in Bayda.^[19]
• Martyrs of Abu Salim – Based in Bayda.^[20]
• Zawiya Brigade – Based in the Nafusa Mountains, trained to take Zawiya^[21]
• Shaheed Brigade – Based in and around Misrata, considered an elite unit in the rebel army^[22][23]
• Misrata Brigade – Based originally in Misrata, reported as based in Tripoli as of August 2011.^[24]
• Black Brigade – Based in and around Misrata^[25]
• Swehdi Brigade – Based in and around Misrata^[25]
• Al Horia Brigade – Based in and around Misrata, garrisoning Taworgha^[26]
• Faisal Brigade – Based on the outskirts of Zliten^[27]
• Arise Brigade – Based on the Libyan Coastal Highway between Misrata and Tripoli.^[28]
• Tripoli Brigade – originally based in Nalut in the Nafusa Mountains and numbering 1,300 men. It is the elite of the rebel forces and was trained to take Tripoli, where it is currently based.^[29]
• Abu Salim Brigade – Eastern Libya^[30]
• Sabratha Brigade – Nafusa Mountains, trained to take Sabratha^[31]
• Zuwara Brigade – Nafusa Mountains, trained to take Zuwara^[32]
• Martyr Wasam Qaliyah brigade – Western Libya composing up to 300 fighters^[33]
• Coastal Brigade – Based on the Libyan Coastal Highway between Zawiya and Tripoli
• Nalut Brigade – Based in Nalut, Nafusa Mountains^[34]
• Kabaw Brigade – Based in the Nafusa Mountains, and took Tiji and Badr^[34]
• Jadu Brigade – Based in Jadu and numbering 300 men^[35]
• 28 May Brigade – Based around Tripoli, composing of Warfalla Tribe Members and trained to take Bani Walid
• Victory Unit – Based on the road between Misrata and Bani Walid^[36]
• Desert Shield Brigade – Liberated Sabha^[37]
• Zintan Brigade – Fought for Sirte and during 2011 Nafusa Mountains Campaign.^[38][39]
• Fursan Brigade – Based in Tripoli^[40]
• Gharyan Brigade – Based in Gharyan^[41]
• Kekka Brigade – Based in Tripoli and numbering 800 fighters.^[42]
• Lions of the Valley Brigade – Based in Misrata, fought in Sirte.^[43][44]
• 11th Brigade – Based in and fought in Sirte.^[45]
• Al-Ghiran Brigade – Based in Sirte and Misrata and was responsible for the capture of Muammar Gaddafi.^[46]
• Khaled bin al-Waleed Brigade - Based in Zintan and was responsible for the capture of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi ^[47]
• Sabha Martyrs of Libya Brigade - Based near Sabha and claimed to be responsible for the capture of Abdullah Senussi.^[48]

Suppliers

• – Egypt has been reported to be supplying the rebels with mostly small arms such as assault rifles and ammunition.^[49]
• – France has acknowledged having sent arms to rebels in the Nafusa Mountains. These are rocket launcher, MILAN anti-tank missiles and guns and ammunition that have been sent.^[50][51][52]
• – The insurgents spokesman said on 6 May that NTC have reached an agreement with Italy to supply their troops with "equipment for self defense".^[53]
• – The Polish Press Agency reported that unofficially the Polish government supplied the rebels with anti-tank rocket launchers and military vehicles and officers of Polish Special Forces in direct operations.^[54][55]
• – Qatar has been reported to be supplying the rebels with various kinds of weapons including MILAN anti-tank systems and AK-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.^[13][56]
• – Sudan supplied fighters in the Nafusa Mountains, Misrata, Kufra, and Benghazi with supplies, ammunition, and weapons, according to President Omar al-Bashir.^[57]
• – The United Arab Emirates had been reported to be supplying the rebels with Belgian FN-FAL rifles^[52] and telecommunication network.^[58]
• – The United Kingdom has supplied the rebel force with communication equipments 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 State Hillary Rodham Clinton.^[59]

Equipment

The equipment of the National Liberation Army comes primarily from abandoned Army depots, Libyan military defectors, notably in eastern Libya, Benghazi, Bayda, and Ajdabiya,^[60] Egyptian Armed Forces, France and Qatar.^[61][62] It is not exactly known what equipment is currently in use but reports from journalists reveal the following is in use (limited in some cases as in tank and armor because of unavailability of spare parts^[63]). As confirmed by "militaryphotos.net" Strickly Photos & Videos Libyan Conflict

Camouflage

Camouflage clothing has been provided by Qatar. Rebels have been seen in Ajdabiya wearing the military fatigues.^[13]

Pistols

• M9 pistol
• Browning Hi-Power^{[64][65][66][67]}
• Beretta Model 70^[68][69]
• FN Five-seven^[70]

Shotguns

• Beretta AL391 semi-automatic shotgun^[71]
• Over and under shotgun^[72]
• Benelli M4^[73]

Submachine guns

• MP 38^[74]
• Sterling Submachine Gun^[66]
• Beretta M12^[75][76]
• MP5SD^[77]
• FN P90 PDW^[78]

Carbines and rifles

• Carcano bolt-action rifle^[66][79][80]
• Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifle^[81]
• Mauser rifle bolt-action rifle
• AK-47 assault rifle (Other variants including AKM, Zastava M70, AK-63, AK-74, AK-103, Chinese Type 56, Romanian AIM and Former East German MPi assault rifles)^[82]
• AKS-74U assault carbine^[83]
• FN FAL battle rifle^[82]
• M14 battle rifle^[84]
• M4 assault carbine^[85]
• Norinco CQ assault rifle (a copy of the Colt M16 rifle)^[86]
• Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifle^[73][87]
• FN F2000 assault rifle^[88][89]

Machine guns and autocannons

• FN FALO Squad automatic weapon^[90][91]
• DP-28 Light machine gun^[92]
• RPD Light machine gun
• RPK Light machine gun^[93]
• PKM General-purpose machine gun^[94]
• PKT re-purposed as portable machine guns^[95]
• Rheinmetall MG 3 General-purpose machine gun^[96][97][98]
• FN MAG General-purpose machine gun^[99]
• M1919A4 and M1919A6 Browning.^[100] 30 cal General-purpose machine gun
• M2 Browning .50 cal Heavy machine gun (Mainly mounted on Technicals)^[101][102]
• M3 Browning .50 cal aircraft machine gun mounted on Technicals
• DShK 12.7 mm Heavy machine gun^[103] (Mainly mounted on Technicals)
• NSV 12.7 mm Heavy machine gun taken off of T-72 tanks (Mainly mounted on Technicals)^[102]
• KPV 14.5 mm Heavy machine gun mounted on Technicals
• ZPU (ZPU-1,ZPU-2,ZPU-4) 14.5 mm Anti-aircraft guns (Mainly mounted on Technicals but also on wheeled carriages)
• Hispano-Suiza HS.820 20 mm naval anti-aircraft autocannon mounted on Technicals^[104][105]
• ZU-23-2 23 mm anti-aircraft autocannons mounted on Technicals
• Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L 23 mm twin-barreled autocannon taken off of pro-Gaddafi force planes and mounted on Technicals^{[106][107][108]}
• Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-301 30 mm autocannon taken off of pro-Gaddafi force planes
• Romanian M-1980/1988 30mm autocannon mounted on Technicals^[109]
• AZP S-60 57 mm autocannon

Sniper rifles

• Dragunov SVD
• PSL (rifle)^{[110][111][112]}
• Truvelo Long Range 7,62x51mm Nato Sniper Rifle captured from the pro-Gaddafi forces^[113][114]

Rocket propelled and grenade systems

• RPG-7 shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher^[115]
• RPG-2 shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher
• RPG-26
• Type 69 RPG shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher
• RB M57 Yugoslavian shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher^[116][117]
• SA-7 9K32 “Strela-2” MANPADs^[118]
• 9K11 Malyutka (Sagger) anti-tank missiles^[119]
• MILAN anti-tank missiles^[120]
• 9M123 Khrizantema supersonic anti-tank missiles^[121]
• Carl Gustav recoilless rifle^[122]
• SPG-9
• B-10 recoilless rifle
• M40 recoilless rifle mounted on jeeps and pickups with roof and wind shield cut off^[123]
• Type 63 multiple rocket launcher (Mainly mounted on Technicals)^[124]
• 122 mm multiple rocket launcher salvaged from damaged BM-21 Grad then divided into 3 to 8 tubes and mounted on Technicals^[125]
• S-5 rocket UB-16-57UMP, UB-32 rocket launchers^[126][127] plus various home-made multiple rocket launcher tubes^[128][129] mounted on Technicals, and various home-made shoulder-launched single tube launchers^{[130][131][132][133]}
• Katyusha rocket launcher mounted on Technicals^[134][135]
• AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher
• F1 hand grenade
• RGD-5
• AN M18 Smoke grenade
• M2 mortar
• M1938 mortar^[136]
• 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30)
• 130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46)^[137]
• 4^[138] x towed M114 155 mm howitzer

Vehicles

• T-55 main battle tank^[103][139]
• T-62 main battle tank^[140]
• T-72 main battle tank^[141]
• Type 59 main battle tank
• Centurion AVRE 105mm main battle tank^[142]
• 2S1 Gvozdika 122mm self-propelled howitzer^{[143][144][145]}
• Palmaria 155mm self-propelled howitzer
• BMP-1 Infantry fighting vehicle^[103]
• BMP-2 Infantry fighting vehicle
• 9P157-2 "Khrizantema-S" BMP-3 Anti-tank version with supersonic 9M123 Khrizantema (AT-15) system with radar and laser guidance^[121][146]
• BMD-1 Infantry fighting vehicle
• MT-LBu Armored personnel carrier^[147]
• BRDM-2
• BTR-60 Armored personnel carrier converted to MRLS for Type 63 multiple rocket launchers^[148]
• M113 Armored personnel carrier^[149] with ZU-23-2 23mm anti-aircraft autocannons mounted on top^[150][151]
• M577 command vehicle converted to Infantry fighting vehicle with 2A28 Grom turret from BMP-1 mounted on top^[152]
• Ratel 20 Infantry fighting vehicles with improvised ZPU-1 Anti-aircraft gun^[153][154] and UB-16-57UMP rocket launcher^[155] mounted on top
• Fiat 6614
• EE-9 Cascavel Armoured car
• EE-11 Urutu Armored personnel carrier
• Nimr 4x4^[156]
• ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" lightly armored, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system SPAAG.
• SA-6 Gainful
• SA-8 Gecko
• RM-70 multiple rocket launcher
• BM-21 Grad Multiple rocket launcher trucks^[157][158]
• AT-T
• S-125 Neva/Pechora
• Technicals (Armed with M2,M3 Browning, DShK, NSV, KPV, ZPU, ZU-23-2, GSh-23L, HS.820, 2A28 Grom with or without the turret taken off the BMP-1^[159][160] and various multiple rocket launchers)

Aircraft

• MiG-21 Fighter jet aircraft – One MiG-21UM crashed after take-off from Benina airport due to technical malfunction.
• MiG-23 Fighter jet aircraft – one shot down by friendly fire over Benghazi.
• Soko G-2 Ground-attack and reconnaissance
• Mil Mi-2 light armoured utility helicopter
• Mil Mi-14 Anti Submarine Helicopter^[161]
• Mil Mi-24^[162] Attack helicopter/Transport helicopter
• Aeryon Scout Micro UAV^[163][164]

Note: Both Soko G-2,Mil Mi-2 were captured at Misrata Airport on 24 February 2011.^[165]

Ships

• 1 Koni class frigate^[166]
  • 212 Al-Hani^[167]
• 1 Nanuchka class corvette
  • 416 Tariq Ibn Ziyaad
• 2 Natya class minesweeper

See also

• Alliance of Yemeni Tribes
• Free Syrian Army

References

Arab Spring "Ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam" Events by country Algeria Bahrain Egypt (revolution · transition) Iraq Israeli borders Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya (civil war · transition) Morocco Oman Saudi Arabia Sudan Syria Tunisia Western Sahara Yemen Groups Bahrain: Al Wefaq · February 14 Youth Coalition Egypt: April 6 Youth Movement · Kefaya · Muslim Brotherhood · National Association for Change · National Democratic Party · Revolutionary Socialists Libya: National Liberation Army · National Transitional Council Saudi Arabia: Umma Islamic Party Syria: Free Syrian Army · Syrian Revolution General Commission · National Council of Syria · National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change Tunisia: Constitutional Democratic Rally Western Sahara: Polisario Front Yemen: Alliance of Yemeni Tribes · Al-Islah · Hashid Notable people Algeria: Abdelaziz Bouteflika Bahrain: Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa · Hasan Mushaima · Ali Salman · Ali Jawad al-Sheikh Egypt: Hosni Mubarak · Omar Suleiman · Wael Ghonim · Khaled Mohamed Saeed · Gigi Ibrahim · Essam Sharaf · Mohamed ElBaradei Jordan: King Abdullah II · Marouf al-Bakhit · Samir Rifai Libya: Muammar Gaddafi · Saif al-Islam Gaddafi · Mustafa Abdul Jalil · Mahmoud Jibril · Mohammed Nabbous Morocco: Mohammed VI · Abbas El Fassi Saudi Arabia: Manal al-Sharif Sudan: Hassan al-Turabi Syria: Bashar al-Assad · Riad Seif · Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb Tunisia: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali · Mohamed Bouazizi Yemen: Ali Abdullah Saleh · Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi · Tawakel Karman · Abdul Majeed al-Zindani · Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar · Sadiq al-Ahmar Impact Occupy movement Albania Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Burkina Faso Croatia Djibouti Georgia Greece India Iran Iraqi Kurdistan Maldives Mexico People's Republic of China Portugal Spain Turkey United Kingdom United States (2011 Wisconsin protests · Occupy Wall Street) International reactions United Nations General Assembly Resolution 65/265 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2009 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2014 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2016 Category  Commons  Wikiquotes

2011 Libyan civil war Part of the Arab Spring · Timeline (15 February–18 March · 19 March–31 May · June–15 August · 16 August–23 October) Forces Anti-Gaddafi forces (National Liberation Army – Free Libyan Air Force – NCLO) • Military of Libya (Libyan Army – Libyan Air Force – Libyan Navy) • Revolutionary Guard Corps Battles Cyrenaica First Battle of Benghazi • First Battle of Brega • Battle of Ra's Lanuf • Battle of Bin Jawad • Second Battle of Brega • Battle of Ajdabiya • Second Battle of Benghazi • First Gulf of Sidra offensive • Third Battle of Brega • Battle of Brega–Ajdabiya road • Cyrenaica campaign • Fourth Battle of Brega  • Ra's Lanuf raid Fezzan Sabha clashes • Fezzan campaign • Battle of Sabha • Ghadames raid Tripolitania First Tripoli clashes • Battle of Misrata • First Battle of Zawiya • Nafusa Mountain Campaign (Battle of Wazzin • Battle of Gharyan) • Battle of the Misrata frontline (Zliten uprising • Battle of Zliten • Battle of Tawergha) • Zawiya raid • Msallata clashes • Rebel coastal offensive (Second Battle of Zawiya) • Ras Ajdir clashes • Battle of Tripoli • Second Gulf of Sidra offensive (Battle of Sirte) • Battle of Bani Walid • Second Tripoli clashes NATO operations Operation Ellamy • Opération Harmattan • Operation Mobile • Operation Odyssey Dawn • Operation Unified Protector People Anti-Gaddafi Mustafa Abdul Jalil • Mahmoud Jibril • Abdul Fatah Younis • Abdul Hafiz Ghoga • Suleiman Mahmoud • Omar El-Hariri • Jalal al-Digheily • Khalifa Belqasim Haftar • Ali Tarhouni • Ali Abd-al-Aziz al-Isawi • Fathi Terbil • Abdelhakim Belhadj • Abu Oweis • Mahdi al-Harati Pro-Gaddafi Muammar Gaddafi • Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr • Saif al-Islam Gaddafi • Khamis Gaddafi • Ali Sharif al-Rifi NATO James G. Stavridis • Charles Bouchard • Ralph Jodice • Rinaldo Veri Others Mohammed Nabbous • Iman al-Obeidi • Prince Mohammed El Senussi • Prince Idris bin Abdullah al-Senussi • Hussein Sadiq al Musrati Places, buildings and structures Abu Salim prison • Bab al-Azizia • Fist Crushing a U.S. Fighter Plane Sculpture • Giuliana Bridge • Green Square/Martyrs' Square • Maydan al Shajara • Mitiga International Airport • People's Hall, Tripoli • Rixos Al Nasr Impact Casualties • Domestic responses (Gaddafi's response to the protests – Gaddafi's response to the civil war) • Human rights violations (Rape allegations) • Humanitarian situation (Refugees) • International reactions (International reactions to military intervention – Protests against military intervention – U.S. reactions to military intervention – International reactions to Gaddafi's death) Other Democratic Party (Libya) • Libyan Freedom and Democracy Campaign • Media • National Transitional Council • Topple the Tyrants • United Nations General Assembly Resolution 65/265 • United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 • United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 • United Nations Security Council Resolution 2009 • United Nations Security Council Resolution 2016 • Voice of Free Libya • Zenga Zenga Italics denote operations or battles related to the military intervention in Libya Category ·  Commons ·  Wikinews ·  Wikiquotes

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