Al Mahdi Ibrahim Abdulhamid Al Barghathi was an important figure in the Awakir tribe and army commander based 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 ...

who was likely executed in October 2023.
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La Croix (newspaper) ''La Croix'' (; English: 'The Cross') is a daily France, French general-interest Catholic Church, Catholic newspaper. It is published in Paris and distributed throughout France, with a circulation of 91,000 as of 2020. ''La Croix'' is not exp ...

''. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2024. Al Barghathi was an army commander of the

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 ...

the commander of the 204th Tank Battalion of the , serving under General

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 ...

in the

Libyan Civil War 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 Yearbooks ...

. Al Barghathi became disillusioned with Haftar's policies, and in 2016 became the Minister of Defense of the opposing Libyan

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 ...

, serving in that function until 2018. Since 2016, Al Barghathi and allies have been targeted for assassination by Haftar, and on 6 October 2023, Al Barghathi was abducted in Benghazi, along with close supporters, family, and other friends.Tidball-Binz, Morris. Gillet, Matthew. Baldé Aua
Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances UA OTH (2.2024)
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Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

''. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024. On 30 October 2023 Al Barghathi was reported to have died while in detention.Harchaoui, Jalel

''

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

''. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2024.

Biography

Al Barghathi was born in

and fought in the

against the forces of

Muammar Qaddafi 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 his assassination by Libyan rebel forces in 2011. He came to power ...

, being among the first officers to join the rebels. In 2014 he joined General Khalifa Haftar's Operation Dignity against the Islamists in 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 commanded the 204 Tank Battalion. He reportedly became a popular officer in the Libyan armed forces for personally fighting on the front line with the troops.Ayyub, Sabe
Opposing reactions to appointment of unity government’s defence minister
. ''Libya Herald''. Published 21 January 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016. Al Barghathi's appointment as the minister of defense of the

in January 2016, formed with international support to reunify Libya, caused disagreements with

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 ...

Haftar. The general believed he was not fit for the role and opposed his appointment. Also, Al Barghathi was an ally of

Ibrahim Jadhran Ibrahim Jadran (; born 1981) is a self imposed Libyan militia leader from Ajdabiya in eastern Libya. Born 1981 in Ajdabiya as the son of Sayyid Jidran, Ibrahim was arrested in February 2005 for organizing an armed group to oust Muammar al-Qaddafi. ...

, leader of the Petroleum Facilities Guards and rival of Haftar. Al Barghathi stated that he remained loyal to the army as an institution and was determined to run it effectively. The

Libyan Air Force The Libyan Air Force () is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,000, with an inventory of 374 combat-capable ai ...

chief of staff under Haftar,

Saqr Geroushi Saqr Adam Geroushi (Arabic: صقر ادم الجروشي) is a Libyan military officer who is the Chief of Staff of the Libyan Air Force that supports Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army faction. Geroushi was reinstated as the head of th ...

, said that al Barghathi should be arrested for becoming the defense minister in the GNA without the commander-in-chief's permission. It was reported that he personally led Libyan unity government forces during the

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

to retake the city of

Sirte Sirte (; , ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, almost right in the middle between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups and loyal ...

from the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

. In March 2017, after Haftar's LNA seized control of the oil facilities in eastern Libya, Al Barghathi was accused of supporting the Benghazi Defense Brigades that fought against the LNA. However, he denied this allegation. In May 2017, GNA Prime Minister Fayez Seraj announced that Al Barghathi was suspended as defense minister after being suspected of involving in the Brak Al-Shati massacre. By December 2017 it appeared that he was no longer suspended and resumed his role as defense minister. Early that month, he visited Libyan soldiers receiving medical treatment in neighboring

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. In July 2018 he was removed from the office after disagreements with 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 ...

.Libyan Presidential Council gives its Defense Minister the sack
. Libya Observer. Published 29 July 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019. Since 2018, Benghazi groups lobbied for Al Barghathi to be given amnesty and be allowed to return home. Eventually permission was given from Haftar, and on October 6, 2023, he returned to his family home. The day began with celebration, as Al Barghathi a prominent figure within his community, hadn't been home since 2016. At 5 pm, internet and communications were cut off in Benghazi, followed by members of the

Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade (TBZ; ) is a militant organization led by Saddam Haftar, son of Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar. It has been accused of crushing any opposition to his father's LNA since its emergence in 2016. In Decemb ...

storming the house, and kidnapping Al Bargathi as well as 7 close allies and other friends and family members. Besides the 7 other men, all women and children were eventually released. 60 to 70 people are also reported to have died during the kidnapping. On 30 October 2023, it was announced by the municipality of Benghazi

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

account that Al Barghathi had died of a stroke during his detention, however it is suspected that he was executed earlier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barghathi, Al Mahdi Libyan generals People of the Libyan civil war (2014–2020) People from Benghazi Living people 1968 births