The Libyan Special Forces (LSF) (), also known as the Al-Saiqa or Saiqa Special Forces and simply Saiqa or Al-Saiqa (; ), are an elite

Libyan National Army The Libyan National Army (LNA; , ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii''), also known as the Libyan Arab Army (LAA; , ''al-Jaysh al-'Arabiyy al-Lībii'') or the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF; ), is a component of Libyan Armed Forces, Libya's mil ...

unit formed from a mixture of paratroopers, paramilitary forces and commandos. (They should not be confused with the similarly named Lightning Bolt Brigade (''Sawaiq'' Brigade) which is part of the Zintan Brigades.) Prominent LSF commander Mahmoud al-Werfalli was indicted in 2017 and 2018 by the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

for the

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

of murdering and ordering the murders of non-combatants, and was assassinated in 2021.

Origins

The pro-government force emerged from a militia in 2010, during the

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 ...

government. In the 1990s, the Libyan Special Forces helped to suppress the rebellion of Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.

Composition and hierarchy

, they numbered about 5000 soldiers and reported to the Ministry of Defence. In 2013, the Libyan Special Forces commander was

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Wanes Abu Khamadah. From 2011 to at least 2017, Mahmoud al-Werfalli was a member of the unit. Since December 2015, he held positions of command responsibility. , his title was Axes Commander and he held responsibility for at least one detention centre. In 2017 and 2018 he was indicted for the

of murdering and ordering the murders of non-combatants by the

(ICC) under Article 8(2)(c)(i) of the Rome Statute. , the ICC warrants for his arrest remained outstanding. The commander of the Libyan Special Forces is Major General Abdul Salam Al-Hassi. He was appointed to the position by

Khalifa Haftar Khalifa Haftar (; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA). In 2015, he was appointed commander of the armed forces loyal to the 2014 Libyan parliam ...

following the passing of his predecessor Major General Wanis Bukhamada in November 2020.

Benghazi Clashes

Libyan Special Forces came to prominence after its deployment in

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

in summer 2013, in an attempt to control the growing disorder. As a result, it came under repeated attacks and several of its officers killed. The force is reportedly popular in Benghazi, particularly in light of its stance against the Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group and because it is seen as a symbol of the reborn Libyan armed forces. The Libyan Special Forces Brigade reportedly has had frictions with the Libya Shield Force, a government-sanctioned powerful militia; despite these frictions, between November and December 2013 the LSF Brigade fought the Ansar al-Sharia militia, suffering some losses. At the end of July 2014 the brigade was pushed out of its main base in Benghazi's Buatni district by Islamist fighters from the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries. A senior Libyan Special Forces official later claimed to the Libya Herald that LSF losses in Benghazi between the 21 and 30 July totaled some 63 dead and 200 wounded. Whilst the official was unsure of the number of Islamist dead, he claimed that it was in the dozens. By 13 August 2014 the LSF presence in Benghazi was almost entirely limited to Benina Airport; the base of Operation Dignity's helicopter unit. Many of the forces top commanders were in turn operating out of the Operation Dignity stronghold of Tobruk.

Related voices

References

{{reflist, refs= {{Cite web , url=https://www.icc-cpi.int/CourtRecords/CR2017_05031.PDF , title=ICC-01/11-01/17: ''The Prosecutor v. Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf Al-Werfalli'' Warrant of Arrest , publisher=

, date=2017-08-15 , access-date=2017-08-16 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190415193126/https://www.icc-cpi.int/CourtRecords/CR2017_05031.PDF , archive-date= 2019-04-15 , url-status=live {{cite web, title=Libya: Threat of Tripoli Fighting Raises Atrocity Concerns — Hiftar's Forces, Rival Militias Have History of Abuses, publisher=

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

, date=6 April 2019, url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/04/06/libya-threat-tripoli-fighting-raises-atrocity-concerns, access-date=9 April 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409021756/https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/04/06/libya-threat-tripoli-fighting-raises-atrocity-concerns, archive-date=9 April 2019, url-status=live {{cite web, title=Libyan commander wanted for war crimes by ICC shot dead, publisher=

Al Jazeera Media Network Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media media conglomerate, conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera E ...

, url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/24/libyan-commander-wanted-for-war-crimes-by-icc-gunned-down, date=24 March 2021, access-date=12 January 2024 {{cite web, last1=The Office of the Prosecutor, title=Fifteenth report of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to the United Nations Security Council pursuant to UNSCR 1970 (2011), publisher=

, date=9 May 2018, url=https://www.icc-cpi.int/itemsDocuments/180509-otp-rep-UNSC-lib-ENG.pdf, access-date=9 April 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414010418/https://www.icc-cpi.int/itemsDocuments/180509-otp-rep-UNSC-lib-ENG.pdf, archive-date=14 April 2019, url-status=live, df=dmy-all Military of Libya Military units and formations established in 2010