Libyan National Army

The Libyan National Army (LNA; Arabic: الجيش الوطني الليبي, al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii) or the Libyan National Arab Army (LNAA; Arabic: الجيش الوطني العربي الليبي, al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-'Arabiyy al-Lībii) is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar when he was nominated to the role on 2 March 2015 by the House of Representatives, consisting at the time of a ground force, an air force and a navy.

Libyan National Army
الجيش العربي الليبي
Also known asLibyan National Army
Libyan Arab Army
Haftar Armed Forces
Supreme CommanderKhalifa Haftar
Commander-in-chiefMohammed al-Menfi
Chief of General StaffAbdulrazek al-Nadoori
Dates of operation2014–present
Allegiance House of Representatives
HeadquartersTobruk, Libya
Active regionsEastern and central Libya
IdeologyArab nationalism
Secularism
Madkhalism
Gaddafism (factions)
Size100,000
AlliesState allies:
 Egypt
 United Arab Emirates
 Syria
 Saudi Arabia
 Russia
Non-state allies:
Rapid Support Forces
Wagner Group
OpponentsState opponents:
Government of National Accord
 Turkey
 Qatar
Non-state opponents:
Syrian National Army
Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries
 Islamic State
Battles and warsFactional violence in Libya

Second Libyan Civil War

Flag

In 2014, LNA launched Operation Dignity, a military campaign against the General National Congress and armed militias and Islamist militant organizations. When the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (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 LNA is loyal to that part of the Libyan House of Representatives that meets in Tobruk, internationally recognised until October 2015. It fights against the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, as well as Islamic State in Libya which is 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 17 July 2019 abduction of House of Representatives member Seham Sergiwa at her home in Benghazi by the 106th Brigade. The LNA stated that it was not responsible for the Sergiwa abduction.

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