Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade (TBZ; ) is a militant organization led by

Saddam Haftar Saddam Haftar (; born 1991) is a Libyan military officer and politician, serving as the Chief of Staff of the ground forces of the Libyan National Army and commander of the Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade. He is the son of Khalifa Haftar, the commander ...

, son of

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) commander

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 ...

. It has been accused of crushing any opposition to his father's LNA since its emergence in 2016. In December 2022, Saddam's Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade was accused by the

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

of committing war crimes.

Composition

Tariq Ben Zeyad is one of the largest and most influential armed groups that operate under the Libyan Arab Armed Forces. It is a mix of Gaddafist soldiers who fought on the side of

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 ...

in the 2011

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 ...

and fighters from tribes allied to LNA.

Timeline

On 24 August 2021, Saddam Haftar met with the commander of the

Misrata Misrata ( ; , Libyan Arabic: ; also spelled Misratah and known by the Italian spelling Misurata) is a city in northwestern Libya located in the Misrata District, situated to the east of Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. ...

-based 166 Brigade Mohammed al-Hassan to discuss the formation of a joint unit. This joint unit composed of the TBZ and 166 Brigade would operate to secure the central region from al-Shuwarif through to

Mizda Mizda or Mesdah (Tamazight: ⵎⵉⵣⴷⴰ, ''Mizda'') is a town in the Nafusa Mountains in Libya. It was the capital of the former Mizda District. Just to the west of Mizda is the Mizda Army Base at The Berber tribe Awlad Abu Say is cente ...

h with a focus on the GMMR pipeline through to al-Hasawna wells. On 25 November 2021, the TBZ, led by Saddam and Khalid, stormed the courthouse in Sabha to prevent judges from hearing Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's appeal to participate in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

. The gunmen used arms against the staffers and judges and then kicked them out. On 29 June 2022, the TBZ announced that it raided a farm in the south where terrorist groups were stationed and confiscated missiles and explosives. On 12 September 2022, the Libya Crimes Watch reported that the Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade set fire to the house of activist Senussi Al-Mahdi for criticizing the violations taking place in the Buhadi area south 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 ...

. The LCW confirmed that five men are still forcibly disappeared. On 19 December 2022, the TBZ was accused by the

of committing war crimes. On 6 October 2023, the TBZ participated in the kidnapping and eventual death of former Minister of Defense Al-Mahdi Al-Barghathi, kidnapping at least a further 7 individuals, and killing 60-70 bystanders in the process.

Accusations

Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade has been accused of terrorizing people by committing "unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, rape and other sexual violence, and forced displacement — with no fear of consequences". The TBZ has been involved in the forcible removal of thousands of refugees and migrants from Sabha and surrounding areas since late 2021, as well as the forced displacement of Libyan families during the LNA's military campaigns to take control of the cities of Benghazi and Derna in eastern Libya between 2014 and 2019.

References

{{Reflist 2016 establishments in Libya National Liberation Army (Libya) Libyan civil war (2014–2020)