Parts of this article (those related to the end of the Second Libyan Civil War) need to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2021)
The Libyan Armed Forces (Arabic: القوات المسلحة الليبية) or the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (Arabic: القوات المسلحة العربية الليبية)[2] are, in principle, the state organisation responsible for the military defence of Libya, including ground, air and naval forces.[3]
After the 2011 civil war and the fall of Gaddafi, the armed forces consisted mostly of local militias that were frequently created or ceased to be active and made temporary shifting alliances.[4] During 2015–2018, after Khalifa Haftar was appointed in 2015 by the Libyan parliament in Tobruk as the supreme commander of the armed forces, he unified many militias into a regular hierarchical structure in the eastern part of Libya that became known as the core of the Libyan National Army (LNA).[4]
As of November 2019[update], the regular core of the LNA (about 7000 soldiers) was complemented by Salafist militias and foreign mercenaries (about 18000 soldiers).[5][4]: 7 As of 2019[update], the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) retained formal control of the militias nominally constituting the Libyan Army, while the Libyan Air Force was split into LNA and GNA controlled components.[4] The naval and coast guard forces were mostly under GNA control.[6] with some coastal patrol boats under LNA control.[4] In 2021, all the armed forces branches (except for the Haftar's forces) were under command of the new President of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi from Government of National Unity after the Second Libyan Civil War ceasefire.
Kingdom of Libya (1951–1969)
The United Kingdom of Libya officially gained its independence from Italy on 24 December 1951.[7] The kingdom was later renamed as the Kingdom of Libya in 1963.
Under the Libyan monarchy, there existed a federal army and local provincial police forces. The U.S. State Department reported in 1957 that the army numbered 1,835 men, while the police forces had around 5,000–6,000. King Idris of Libya and his government relied on the police for internal security and were anxious to increase the size of the national army to 5,000 troops.
The United Kingdom had the primary role of training the Libyan Army, but the United States also contributed to training a 1,035-man contingent and was considering taking responsibility for training the entire army.[8] The U.S. also supplied the Royal Libyan Air Force, coming to an agreement in May 1957 to supply Libya with 10 Northrop F-5s.[9]
Libyan Arab Republic and Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1969–2011)
The Libyan army was estimated to have 50,000 total troops as of 2009.[12]
Transition period (2011–2014)
During the 2011–2014 transition period, the Libyan armed forces consisted mostly of a shifting ensemble of militias being created and dissolved and creating and dropping alliances.[4]
Units
This article is missing information about most of the units of the 2011–2014 epoch. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.(November 2019)
Prime MinisterFayez al-Sarraj, the head of the GNA, is nominally the supreme commander of the GNA forces.[16] The military is under the authority of the GNA Ministry of Defense, formerly led by Colonel Al-Mahdi Al-Barghathi from 2016[17] to 2018, at which point Sarraj took over as defense minister.[18]
During 2015–2018, the LNA under Haftar's control unified many militias into a regular hierarchical structure in the eastern part of Libya and used online social networks to present the image of growing military and political power,[4] while still remaining, as of November 2019[update], dominated by Salafist militias and foreign members.[5] As of 2019[update], the LNA consisted of about 7000 regular soldiers and 18000 militia and foreign members.[4]: 7
