Mahmoud Al-Werfalli
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Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf al-Werfalli (; 1978 – 24 March 2021) was a Libyan general, commander in al-Saiqa, an elite unit 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 ...
, one of the warring factions in
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
's civil war since 2014. Al-Werfalli was indicted in 2017 in 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 ...
s of murder and ordering the murder of non-combatants under article 8(2)(c)(i) of the Rome Statute. , the ICC had two outstanding warrants for al-Werfalli's arrest. He was assassinated on 24 March 2021 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 ...
.


Childhood

Al-Werfalli was born in 1978. He was a member of the Warfalla tribe, which was loyal to former Libyan ruler
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 ...
and from which many members of Gaddafi's security forces were recruited.


Military career

Al-Werfalli began his career in the Libyan Army in 2000 after graduating from the country's military college. He eventually became a member of the elite al-Saiqa unit and remained a member when the Libyan Civil War against Gaddafi's rule began in 2011. Soon thereafter al-Saiqa, under the command of Wanis Bukhmada, defected and joined the rebels. Following the end of Gaddafi's rule, al-Saiqa aligned itself with the Libyan National Army, led 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 ...
, and fought against the
Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries The Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries (, ''Majlis Shura Thuwar Benghazi'') was a military coalition in Benghazi, Libya, composed of Islamist and jihadist militias, including Ansar al-Sharia, Libya Shield 1, and several other groups. H ...
in and around the city of
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 ...
from 2014 to 2017 in a battle for control of the city. By at least 2017, al-Werfalli was a regional commander of al-Saiqa and oversaw at least one detention center. In that year al-Werfalli gained international notoriety by appearing in videos posted by al-Saiqa's social media accounts that depicted him executing or ordering the execution of prisoners. In total 7 videos were published. One video in particular allegedly depicted the execution of 20 men. Al-Werfalli's actions were singled out by the
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 ...
, which documented several of these incidents and called for a full investigation.


International Criminal Court charge

Mahmoud al-Werfalli was indicted on 15 August 2017 with the war crime of murder with regard to the situation in Libya. The arrest warrant against him alleges that he "appears to be directly responsible for the killing of, in total, 33 persons in Benghazi or surrounding areas, between on or before 3 June 2016 and on or around 17 July 2017, either by personally killing them or by ordering their execution." The arrest warrant notes that in seven incidents, which were videoed and posted on al-Saiqa's social media accounts, al-Werfalli either appeared to order the execution, or conducted the execution himself, of prisoners. The Court notes in the arrest warrant that "the executions were exceptionally cruel, dehumanising and degrading." Two days after the Court issued the warrant of arrest, 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 ...
(LNA) announced that it had arrested al-Werfalli and that he was under investigation. On 24 January 2018, he was accused of executing 10 prisoners in Benghazi. Automatically after that, an Interpol red notice against him, on behalf of
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 ...
, was issued.


Sanctions

In December 2019, the
US Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...
included Al-Werfalli on its sanctions list, accusing him of committing serious human rights violations. In its statement, the US Treasury said that Al-Werfalli was filmed on January 24, 2018, "carrying out a mass execution of ten unarmed detainees in Benghazi. After each detainee was shot in the head one by one, Al-Werfalli fired freely on a group of ten detainees who were executed." In September 2020, he was also sanctioned by the EU, for the same criminal charges.


Assassination

On 24 March 2021, Libyan media quoted a spokesman for the "Libyan National Army" as confirming that "the military commander, Mahmoud Al-Werfalli, was killed in Benghazi." Al-Werfalli died after his car was hit by bullets near Al-Arab Medical University in Benghazi. His brother was injured in the attack and was taken to intensive care.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Werfalli, Mahmoud 1978 births 2021 deaths Libyan military personnel People indicted by the International Criminal Court People of the Libyan civil war (2011) Assassinated Libyan people Deaths by firearm in Libya Assassinations in Libya People of the Libyan civil war (2014–2020)