Major General Osama al-Juwaili () is a

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

n military officer who served as Minister of Defence in the government of

Abdurrahim El-Keib Abdurrahim Abdulhafiz El-Keib, PhD, (; also transcribed ''Abdel Rahim AlKeeb,'' ''Abdul Raheem Al-Keeb,'' etc.; 2 March 1950 – 21 April 2020) was a Libyan politician, professor of electrical engineering, and entrepreneur who served as interim ...

, Libya's interim Prime Minister. Since the formation of the

Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord (GNA; ) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. The agreement was unanimously endors ...

(GNA) in 2015, al-Juwaili served it as a senior commander, since 2017 being the commander of the Western Military Zone. On 6 April 2019 he became the commander of the joint operations room, created by Prime Minister

Fayez al-Sarraj Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj ( or ; born 20 February 1960) is a Libyan politician who served as the chairman of the Presidential Council (Libya), Presidential Council of Libya and List of heads of government of Libya, head of government of the Govern ...

to coordinate military operations since the start of the 2019 Western Libya offensive. He fought in the

First Libyan Civil War The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...

against the government of

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

. Immediately prior to his appointment on 22 November 2011, Juwali's Zintan Brigade, a band of anti-Gaddafi fighters based in

Zintan Zintan (, meaning "small castles") is a city in northwestern Libya, situated roughly southwest of Tripoli, in the area. The city and its surrounding area has a population of 16,024. History The Roman garrison town of Tentheos was on the Naf ...

in Libya's Nafusa Mountains, located and captured

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi (; born 25 June 1972) is a Libyan political figure. He is the second son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife Safia Farkash. He was a part of his father's inner circle, performing publ ...

, one of the former Libyan leader's most prominent sons, in the

Libyan Desert The Libyan Desert (not to be confused with the Libyan Sahara) is a geographical region filling the northeastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval m ...

. al-Juwaili is said to be aligned with the Tripoli Revolutionary Council (TRC) led by Abdullah Naker, who warned in an interview 18 November that his men could overthrow the government even before it was appointed if it failed to meet their demands for representation. Studied "Electronic Support" and Graduated from the Tripoli Military Academy in 1982, he remained to be a trainer at the academy until 1987. He resigned from the army in 1992 with rank of captain. Juwali was then appointed as head of the Vocational Guidance center in Yifrin part of the Libyan Ministry of Workforce and Training. He defected to the

anti-Gaddafi forces The anti-Gaddafi forces, also known as the Libyan opposition or Libyan rebels, were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi during the First Libyan Civil War in 2011, killing him in the process. The A ...

during the 2011 civil war, becoming the head of Zintan's military council. His uncle was reportedly a deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya under Gaddafi. In August 2022, Juwaili was involved in Fathi Bashagha's failed attempt to take Tripoli and overthrow the UN-recognized government of

Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh Abdul Hamid Muhammad Abdul Rahman al-Dbeibeh (, also transliterated as Dbeibah) is a Libyan politician and businessman who is the prime minister of Libya under the Government of National Unity (Libya), Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripo ...

Political life

Juwaily met with Major General Isa Saif Al Mazrouie, Deputy Chief of Staff of the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

Armed Forces in Tripoli on 6 December 2011 and discussed areas of cooperation between the two countries and ways of enhancing them, especially in the military sector. Since January 2012 Juwaily is responsible for integrating the rival militias into a fully functioning army and police force.Libya to include rebels in military from January

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

, 26 December 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juwaily, Osama al- People of the Libyan civil war (2011) Libyan military personnel Members of the National Transitional Council Members of the Interim Government of Libya Ministers of defence of Libya Libyan Sunni Muslims Living people 1961 births Date of birth missing (living people) People from Jabal al Gharbi District 21st-century military personnel