Suleiman Mahmoud al-Obeidi (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: سليمان محمود العبيدي; 1949 - 6 October 2020)Head of Presidential Council offers condolences for death of MG Sulaiman Al-Abedi
/ref> was a senior military officer in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

Career

He was formerly a commander in

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

's army. He was commander of the

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...

Military Region. He was amongst the first of the army hierarchy to defect to the opposition during the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. T ...

. Around half of the estimated 6,000 troops who joined the

rebels Rebels may refer to: * Participants in a rebellion * Rebel groups, people who refuse obedience or order * Rebels (American Revolution), patriots who rejected British rule in 1776 Film and television * ''Rebels'' (film) or ''Rebelles'', a 2019 ...

took their orders from General Mahmoud prior to the 28 July 2011 assassination of General

Abdul Fatah Younis Abdul Fatah Younis Al-Obeidi (; ar, عبد الفتاح يونس, sometimes transliterated ''Fattah Younis'' or ''Fattah Younes'' or ''Fatah Younes''; 1944 – 28 July 2011) was a senior military officer in Libya. He held the rank of major gene ...

, the top commander of the National Liberation Army. The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newsp ...

reported the next day that Mahmoud succeeded Younis as army commander. Mahmoud moved his headquarters to

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...

after the success of Operation Mermaid Dawn. As of early September 2011, he reportedly maintained a separate force from

Abdelhakim Belhadj Abdelhakim Belhaj (or Belhadj; ar, عبد الحكيم بلحاج, nom de guerre: Abu Abdallah Assadaq) (born 1 May 1966) is a Libyan politician and military leader. He is the leader of the Islamist al-Watan Party and former head of the Tripo ...

, the head of the Tripoli Military Council, though the two men were ostensibly working to integrate the

anti-Gaddafi forces The anti-Gaddafi forces were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi, killing him in the process. These opposition forces included organized and armed militia groups, participants in the Libyan Civil ...

in western Libya into a cohesive military under the aegis of the

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...

Death

On 6 October 2020, Mahmoud died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

at the age of 71 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Libya.

References

External links

* *
English Aljazeera interview of General Suleiman Mahmoud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmoud, Suleiman 1949 births 2020 deaths Libyan generals People of the First Libyan Civil War National Liberation Army (Libya) Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Libya