Suleiman Mahmoud al-Obeidi (; 1949 – 6 October 2020)Head of Presidential Council offers condolences for death of MG Sulaiman Al-Abedi
/ref> was a senior military officer of the Gaddafi regime 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 ...

who defected to the opposition during the Libyan Civil War.

Career

He was formerly a commander in

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 army. He was commander of the

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� ...

Military Region. He was amongst the first of the army hierarchy to defect to the opposition during the Libyan Civil War. Around half of the estimated 6,000 troops who joined the rebels took their orders from General Mahmoud prior to the 28 July 2011 assassination of General

Abdul Fatah Younis Abdul Fatah Younis Al-Obeidi (; , sometimes transliterated ''Fattah Younis'' or ''Fattah Younes'' or ''Fatah Younes''; 1944 – 28 July 2011) was a Libyan military officer and politician. He served as Libya's interior minister until his resignat ...

, the top commander of the National Liberation Army. The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

reported the next day that Mahmoud succeeded Younis as army commander. Mahmoud moved his headquarters to Tripoli after the success of Operation Mermaid Dawn. As of early September 2011, he reportedly maintained a separate force from Abdelhakim Belhadj, the head of the Tripoli Military Council, though the two men were ostensibly working to integrate the

anti-Gaddafi forces The anti-Gaddafi forces, also known as the Libyan opposition or Libyan rebels, were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi during the First Libyan Civil War in 2011, killing him in the process. The A ...

in western Libya into a cohesive military under the aegis of 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 ...

. In 2014, he opposed

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 ...

's Operation Dignity and vocally criticized Haftar while living in

despite the fact that the Tobruk government was aligned with Haftar. He relocated to Tripoli after Haftar tried to seize Tripoli.

Death

On 6 October 2020, Mahmoud died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

at the age of 71 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Libya.

References

External links

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English Aljazeera interview of General Suleiman Mahmoud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmoud, Suleiman 1949 births 2020 deaths Libyan generals People of the Libyan civil war (2011) National Liberation Army (Libya) Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Libya