Mahdi al-Harati (born c. 1973) is an Irish-Libyan politician and former co-commander of the Tripoli Brigade 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. The ...

. He was also the commander of Liwaa Al-Umma, a militant group fighting against the Syrian government in the Syrian civil war. Before the Libyan civil war he was an Arabic teacher in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, where he lived with his Irish-born wife and family. He was described by ''

Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized ...

'', a Dutch daily newspaper, as being a face of the Battle of Tripoli and one of the most important rebel commanders of the Libyan civil war. The '' Sunday Times'', a British newspaper, offered a first-hand account of Al-Mahdi's advance on Tripoli and his men's assault on Gaddafi's former residence, Bab Al-Azizia. He was appointed second in command of the newly formed

Tripoli Military Council 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 ...

. On 11 October 2011, Al-Harati resigned as deputy head of the Tripoli Military Council, amid tensions over security in the capital. According to the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', while Al-Harati's associates in Tripoli assured that the resignation was for "personal reasons", a senior NTC official quoted by

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

said that the resignation was because of "differences with the National Transitional Council on the planning of the security of Tripoli". Fathi Al-Wersali, a member of the Tripoli Military Council, stated that Al-Harati would continue as commander of the Tripoli brigade. Following his involvement in the Libyan civil war al-Harati went on a fact-finding mission to Syria where, following discussions with members of the Syrian opposition, he decided to form the militant group Liwaa Al-Umma. After six months leading Liwaa Al-Umma, Al-Harati left the brigade in September 2012 and handed over its command to the Free Syrian Army. In 2014, Al-Harati was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Libya's capital city of Tripoli. On 27 February 2017, Al-Harati was the victim of a sectarian attack in which he was arrested in Malta along with two men who attacked him.

Accusations of Terrorism related Activity

Al Harati was placed on a ban list by, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other countries for links to supporting Terrorism and Al Nusra front in Syria and for Terrorism related activities with Links to Qatari sponsorship. The ban list ensued the

2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis The Qatar diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic incident in the Middle East that began on 5 June 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and banned Qatar-registered planes and ship ...

which a number of nations cut ties with Qatar for its alleged "financial support of international terrorism".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harati, Mahdi al- Living people Libyan colonels National Liberation Army (Libya) Irish Sunnis Year of birth uncertain Date of birth missing (living people) People of the First Libyan Civil War People of the Syrian civil war Year of birth missing (living people)