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 Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

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 ...

when he was nominated to the role on 2 March 2015 by the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, consisting at the time of a ground force, an air force and a navy. In 2014, LNA launched Operation Dignity, a military campaign against the

General National Congress The General National Congress or General National Council (GNC; ) was the Legislature, legislative authority of Libya for two years following the end of the First Libyan Civil War. It was elected by popular vote on 7 July 2012, and took power f ...

and armed militias and Islamist militant organizations. When the internationally recognised

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) was established in Tripoli, part of the Libyan military forces were named the Libyan Army to contrast with the other part that retained the LNA identity. In the

Second Libyan Civil War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

, the LNA was loyal to that part of the

Libyan House of Representatives Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the United Nations Demographic Yearbook ...

that met in

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

, internationally recognised until October 2015. It fights against the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, as well as Islamic State in Libya which was a common enemy for both LNA and the Libyan Army. About half of the LNA consists of militias including Madkhali (Salafist) militias and Sudanese, Chadian and Russian mercenaries, which together constitute part of the LNA's effective forces. The LNA possesses its own air force. Most of the Libyan Navy is loyal to the GNA. Interventions in the political system by the LNA include the late 2016 replacement of nine elected municipal councils out of a total of 27, replacing elected mayors by mostly military individuals and, according to witnesses cited by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', the 17 July 2019 abduction of House of Representatives member Seham Sergiwa at her home 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 ...

by the 106th Brigade. The LNA stated that it was not responsible for the Sergiwa abduction.

Name

In November 2019, the United Nations Panel of Experts on Libya established under

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 Resolution 1973 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 17 March 2011 in response to the First Libyan Civil War. The resolution formed the legal basis for military intervention in the Libyan Civil War, demanding "an immediate ce ...

started using the name ''Haftar Armed Forces (HAF)'' to replace the name ''Libyan National Army'' to refer to "all armed groups associated with Haftar". It also chose to use lower case regarding "brigades" and "battalions" in order to avoid giving them "the legitimacy of being a formed military unit of a government".

Allies

Haftar and the LNA is de facto backed by the governments of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and the

United Arab Emirates 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 monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

has also provided tacit backing for Haftars forces. France carried out unprecedented air strikes by its Airforce on Chadian opposition fighters, which are LNA's biggest opponents. This resulted in a public dispute with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, which is supporting the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

is Haftar's most committed ally. In May 2020 the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) stated that Russia had deployed at least 14 MiG planes to the country. The plans were supported by private military contractors of

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

and supporting the LNA.

Structure

* Ground forces ** Regular forces **

Special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

** Military intelligence **

Militias A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or serve ...

** Foreign units * LNA component of the Libyan Air Force *

Naval forces A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operati ...

: coastal patrol vessels

Ranks

Leadership

was made head of the armed forces of Libya on 2 March 2015, remaining as leader of the Libyan National Army after the split between the LNA and the

(GNA). , Major General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori was the chief of staff of the LNA. A lobbying firm was paid to lobby on his behalf for 12 months, starting 1 December 2017, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Mahmoud al-Werfalli, known internationally for his

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 ...

arrest warrant under Article 8(2)(c)(i) of the Rome Statute, was Axes Commander in the al-Saiqa unit of the LNA . Other senior leaders include: *Commander-in-chief

Aguila Saleh Issa Aguila Saleh Issa Gueider (; born January 11, 1944) is a Libyan jurist and politician who is the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives (Libya), House of Representatives since 2014. He therefore served as the List of heads of state of Li ...

(President of the Libyan House of Representatives). *Supreme commander Field Marshal

. *Chief of Staff of the Libyan Air Force Major General Saqr Geroushi. * Military intelligence Major General Ramadan Atiat-Allah. * Libyan Special Forces Major General Wanis Bukhamada. * Head of Operations Major General Abdulsalam al-Hasy. * Official Spokesperson of the LNA Major General Ahmed al-Mesmary. * Head of Darna operations room Major General Salim al-Rifady al-Obaidy.

Ground forces

Regular forces

, the LNA had about 7000 regular forces. These include:

106th Brigade

In April 2019, the 106th Brigade, also known as ''Awlia Aldem'' () was led by Khaled, son of Khalifa Haftar. , the brigade's commander was Salem Rahil. On 17 July 2019, according to witnesses cited by ''

'' and a family member cited by ''

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

'', 25–30 masked, uniformed 106th Brigade members abducted member of the

Seham Sergiwa in

. The LNA stated that it was not responsible for the abduction. , after multiple calls by UNSMIL for the LNA to investigate the disappearance, Sergiwa remained missing.

73rd Brigade Mechanized infantry

Leader: Saleh al-Quta'ani (Aug 2019)

Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade

Leader: Omar Mraje' (Aug 2019)

9th Brigade

Leader: Kani brothers; origin:

Tarhuna Tarhuna (; ), also Tarhoona or Tarhunah, is a Libyan village to the southeast of Tripoli, in the Murqub District. The Tarhuna District, including the city of Msallata, had an urban population of about 296,000 (est. 2003). The population in T ...

(Aug 2019)

128th Battalion

Leader: Hassan al-Zadma; many Mahamid members (Aug 2019)

116th Battalion

Leader: Massoud Jiddu (Aug 2019)

124th Brigade

Leader:

309th Brigade Mechanized infantry

Leader:

1st Brigade

Leader:

166th Brigade Mechanized infantry

Leader:

188th Brigade infantry

Leader:

5th Brigade infantry

Leader:

115th Brigade Mechanized infantry

Leader:

82nd Brigade infantry

Leader:

Special forces

Al-Saiqa is an elite army unit, formed from a mixture of paratroopers and commandos. It numbers a few thousand and reports to the Ministry of Defence. It is popular in Benghazi, particularly in light of its opposition to Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group and because it is seen as a symbol of the reborn Libyan armed forces.

Militias

Madkhali militias in the LNA include the

Tawhid ''Tawhid'' () is the concept of monotheism in Islam, it is the religion's central and single most important concept upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. It unequivocally holds that God is indivisibly one (''ahad'') and s ...

Battalion commanded by Izz al-Din al-Tarhuni; the Tariq Ibn Ziyad Brigade, the Subul al-Salam group and the al-Wadi Brigade. LNA groups from

Sabratha Sabratha (; also ''Sabratah'', ''Siburata''), in the Zawiya DistrictSorman, Tiji and Badr, towns in which Madkhali preachers were active and supported Haftar, are mostly Madkhali Salafists. During the 2019–20 Western Libya campaign, the LNA was allied with the al-Kaniyat militia in

. The number of auxiliary LNA forces (militias and mercenaries) was estimated in May 2019 as by Jason Pack of the

Institute for International Political Studies The Institute for International Political Studies (Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, ''ISPI''), founded in 1934, is the oldest think tank in Italy. It offers diploma and postgraduate education specializing in international rela ...

Foreign mercenaries

Foreign mercenaries operating during 2019 Western Libya offensive on behalf of the LNA include Sudanese, Chadians and Russians. Sudanese from the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (Minnawi) were present in Libya starting in March 2015 and fought on behalf of the LNA in 2016. SLM (Minnawi) planned on leaving Libya in early 2017. Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (al-Nur) fighters fought on behalf of the LNA, with personnel in Libya in mid-2016. Involvement of Sudanese mercenaries continued in 2018. On 25 July 2019, 1000 members of the Sudanese

Rapid Support Forces The Rapid Support Forces (RSF; ) is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government. RSF ...

, widely attributed to be responsible for the 3 June 2019 Khartoum massacre, arrived in Libya and were expected to number 4000 in total. Chadians from the Rally of Democratic Forces () were recruited by the LNA in late 2015, especially in the southern part of Libya. There were an estimated 200 Russian

mercenaries in the LNA in 2019. On 1 January 2022, the ''5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission'' announced the deportation of 300 Sudanese mercenaries linked to the LNA from the Eastern Region.

History

2011–2013

The Libyan National Army was founded in 2011 by the

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council (NTC) was a transitional government established in the 2011 Libyan civil war. After rebel forces overthrew the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011, the NTC governed Libya for a further ...

, after forces aligned to it defeated the previous Libyan Army and overthrew

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 ...

's government. Supply depots and bases having been damaged during the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the new army is faced with the challenge of having to rebuild much of the country's military infrastructure. Yousef Mangoush was named as its first Chief of Staff on 2 January 2012 and the force saw its first major deployment on 23 February, when it was deployed to

Kufra Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of the 19th century, Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...

to intervene in a tribal conflict. In November 2011, the National Transitional Council began the difficult process of restructuring the army, with military personnel who defected from the Gaddafi government and former rebel fighters of the National Liberation Army forming the basis of the new Libyan Army. Major General Khalifa Belgacem Haftar was chosen as the overall commander of the new Libyan Army due to his military experience and loyalty to the revolution that overthrew Gaddafi. The Libyan Army only numbered "a few thousand" trained soldiers in November 2011, and was rapidly trying to train up new fighters who could keep the peace nationwide and deter rogue militias from acting without NTC orders, and was responsible for brokering a ceasefire on at least one occasion in November between warring militas from Zawiya and Al Maya. On 1 December 2011, it was reported that the National Liberation Army was to integrate up to 50,000 former rebel fighters into the new Libyan national army and police forces, with the aid of French training, with long-term aims to integrate as many as 200,000 fighters from the brigades that had fought against Gaddafi during the civil war. In December 2011, Italy agreed to provide training to the Libyan Army as it attempted to reorganize in the aftermath of the Civil War. Also in December, large numbers of former rebels were being given jobs in the new army, whilst the government also announced that they would be free to join the special forces and the Navy too. According to Osama al-Juwaili, the defence minister: "The idea is to inject new blood in the army which was marginalised by the tyrant (Gaddafi)" General Yousef Mangoush said on 5 January 2012 that Libya's new army faces major obstacles such as rebuilding bases destroyed during the conflict, as well as disarming militias that were not part of the new army. National Army commander General

said later that it could take between three and five years for Libya to field a capable enough army to protect its borders. On 7 May 2013, Libya's Defense Minister Mohammed al-Barghathi resigned due to a crisis caused by gunmen who have besieged two ministries for more than a week, a ministry official said. He later withdrew his resignation after Prime Minister Zeidan convinced him to stay. Under an agreement reached at the Lough Erne G8 summit in June 2013, NATO countries the United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey, and the United States undertook to help train up to 15,000 personnel from Libyan National Army units over a two-year period. They were to take units from newly formed brigades for 10-week stints of intensive infantry training. The 27th Brigade was due to start at Bassingbourn in eastern England in January 2014. As a result of disorder and sexual assaults by some Libyan army cadets, the UK cancelled the programme in November 2014. The Libyan trainees were sent back to Libya, with the exception of five who were tried for sexual offenses.

2016 overthrow of mayors

In late 2016, Major-General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori of the LNA replaced several of the elected municipal mayors in eastern Libya by unelected people, mostly military. Altogether the LNA replaced nine elected councils, out of 27 in its area of control, by military administrators.

2025

In May 2025, days after the 2025 Tripoli clashes, the LNA held a large military parade showing off advanced equipment in Benghazi, including the

BM-30 Smerch The BM-30 ''Smerch'' (, 'whirlwind'), 9K58 Smerch or 9A52-2 Smerch-M is a heavy Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled 300 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union to fire a full load of 12 solid-fuelled projectiles. The ...

and the

TOR missile system The Tor (; ) is an all-weather, low-to medium-altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system designed for destroying airplanes, helicopters, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and short-range external ballistics, ballistic threats ( ...

Equipment

Whilst it is known to a degree what equipment the Libyan National Army uses, the exact numbers of the below equipment currently in use is not known. What is certain is that a reasonable quantity of their equipment probably came from ransacked stocks of the original Libyan Army and from defectors as well. A significant amount of arms and equipment possessed by the LNA were majorly shipped by the United Arab Emirates and Russia. Having an airbase in Libya (Al-Khadim), the UAE constantly breached the UN arms embargo to transfer arms to the Haftar forces. An Emirati firm, Lancaster-6 was involved in transferring three Super Pumas to the LNA in June 2019. The helicopters were believed to be incapable to operate. The three helicopters remained inside hangars until Haftar's military parade in May 2021 and were expected to take part in his air force.

Technicals

A variety of pickup/utility vehicles, called

technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical area, an area which a manager, other coaching personnel, and substitutes are allowed to occupy during a football match * Technical advisor, a person who ...

s and gun trucks, often

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

and other makers, armed with a variety of different weapons, including heavy machine guns, light MLRS' and anti-aircraft guns, most commonly used is the ZU-23-2 and the ZPU.

Small arms

Main battle tanks

Armored fighting vehicles

Artillery

Air defense

Utility vehicles and trucks

UAVs

Notes

References

* {{Authority control Military of Libya Libyan civil war (2014–2020) Rebel groups in Libya

Name

Allies

Structure

Ranks

Leadership

Ground forces

Regular forces

106th Brigade

73rd Brigade Mechanized infantry

Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade

9th Brigade

128th Battalion

116th Battalion

124th Brigade

309th Brigade Mechanized infantry

1st Brigade

166th Brigade Mechanized infantry

188th Brigade infantry

5th Brigade infantry

115th Brigade Mechanized infantry

82nd Brigade infantry

Special forces

Militias

Foreign mercenaries

History

2011–2013

2016 overthrow of mayors

2025

Equipment

Technicals

Small arms

Main battle tanks

Armored fighting vehicles

Artillery

Air defense

Utility vehicles and trucks

UAVs

See also

Notes

References