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Western Militias
Home > Security > Western Militias
3rd Infantry Company.
8th Force. This unit holds a camp located in Ghariyan.
17th Battalion. This pro-GNU battalion was based in the Ghadames region. In July 2025, the LNA 173 Battalion took the Ghadames Airport from the 17th after its members reportedly surrended or defected.
32nd Infantry Battalion. This unit is tasked with protecting Tripoli International Airport. It is commanded by Colonel Ramzi al-Qamoudi who is from Zawiya. The 32nd Infantry Battalion was recently incorporated into the Border Guard and Vital Targets Unit.
51st Infantry Brigade.
52nd Infantry Brigade. Occupies the coastal road from Zawayi to Tunisian border.
53rd Infantry Brigade. Misrata.
54th Infantry Brigade. The 54th is commanded by the Zintani militia leader Abdul Mawla al-Hamali.
55th Battalion. Located in the Wershefana area of western Tripoli.
103rd Battalion. Located in southern Zawiya (a city 45 kilometers west of Tripoli). It is led by Othman Al-Lahb. the 103rd bn is sometimes referred to as "Khatibat Al-Sulaa".
111 Brigade Majhfal. Located in southwestern Tripoli with camps located in other locations in western Libya.
166th Brigade (Misrata).
222th. Unknown of composition, size, and disposition. Some social media accounts say it is a battalion and others say it is a brigade sized unit. It apparently was a 'reserve' unit with soldiers and officers in inactive formations; however that has changed in since 2023 (?).
Brigade 444. Located in southern Tripoli. The 444 Brigade is headed by Mahmound Hamza. He had been captured by the Special Deterrence Force in August 2023 at Mitiga airport in Tripoli. The capture sparked fighting in the city and he was subsequently released. The Turks have been most closely associated with the 444 Brigade. Ankara maintains a permanent presence in western Libya at al-Watiya airbase near Zintan and the naval base in Misrata. The 444 Brigade is seen by some as disciplined, reliable, and uncompromising in dealing with crime in the areas it controls south of Tripoli.
461st Infantry? Another sometimes mention unit in Tripoli region.
555th Brigade. Located in downtown Tripoli.
Al-Dawi.
Al-Fahri Militia. This militia group is based in the city of Ajilat - west of Tripoli. These forces are associated with Hatim Al-Fahri.
General Security Force. Located in east of Tripoli.
Janzour Knights Battalion. Located in the western suburbs of Tripoli along the coast. Naji Qanidi is a former commander of the Knights of Janzour Miltia.
Joint Operations Force (JOF Misrata). This unit is located in Misrata and is a component of the Ministry of Defence.
Joint Operations Force. This JOF is located west of Tripoli along the coastal road leading to the Tunisian border. It is composed of MoI and MoD units.
Kalash Militia. This militia group, known as the Kalash Militia led by Mohammed Kalash, is centered in northern Zawiya, Libya.
Martyr Sabria Brigade.
Misrata Military Council. This armed group waslocated in Misrata, Libya, a city on the Mediterranean Sea located between Tripoli and Sirte. (Google Maps). It had lapsed for a number of years; but apparently has been reactivated in the summer of 2024.
Nawasi Brigade. Once a powerful militia that was based in the seaport and downtown area of Tripoli. It has since been disbanded.
Public Security Service.
Rahbat al-Daraa Brigade. A militia in the Tajoura area east of Tripoli. Led by Bashir al-Bugra (aka Bashir al-Buqrah). The group is also known as the Rahbat Dorou Brigade or the "Shield Battalion". Al-Buqrah was recently injured in an assassination attempt in early August 2024 which prompted a fight between the Rahba al-Duruae force and a former subunit known as al-Shahida Sabriya. The August 2024 flare up ended when the Joint Operations Force (JOF) deployed elements from Misrata to intervene.
Al-Shahida Sabriya. A former subunit of the Rahbat al-Daraa Brigade. Its is reported to consist of fighters from Benghazi. Located in the Tajoura area, east of Tripoli.
Special Deterrence Force (RADA - SDF). This militia is located in the central area of Tripoli. RADA Special Deterrence Forces, Wikipedia. In early September it moved off many of the checkpoints and camps it held and consolidated its forces at a location west of the Mitiga Airport in Tripoli.
Stability Support Authority (SSA). Based in the neighborhood of Abu Salim (Tripoli). It has been under the control of Abdelghani "ghnewa" al-Kikli. This group is also known as the "Stability Support Apparatus". It has numerous branches across western Libya. There is a branch component of the SSA in Zawiya and Ghariyan.
Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade. The TRB was once a powerful militia but it has since been disbanded. Its leaders and members returned to civilian life or joined up with other militias.
Zawiya Militias. Located to the west of Tripoli on the coast on the Mediterranean Sea, the armed groups in control of this coastal city enjoy some independence from the central government(s) of Tripoli. As of spring 2024 there were four main armed groups vying for control of the city.
Zintan Military Council. Based in the city of Zintan, located southwest of Tripoli, this regional force is comprised of several different militias. The Zintan Military Council is divided in its allegiance to the regimes in west and east Libya.
References on Forces in Western Libya
Libyan Army - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Army
This is the government army based in Tripoli, Libya. The
Libyan Army is under the command of the internationally
recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).
Key Armed Groups, Lawyers for Justice in Libya.
https://www.reportinglibya.org/who-key-actors/
Papers and Reports
Security Actors in Misrata, Zawiya, and Zintan since
2011, by Tim Eaton, Middle East and North Africa
Programme, Chatham House, December 2023, PDF, 59 pages.
https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/2023-12-12-security-in-misrata-zawiya-zintan-eaton_0.pdf
Lacher, Wolfram and Alaa al-Idrissi, Capitol of
Militias: Tripoli's Armed Groups Capture the Libyan State,
Small Arms Survey, JUne 2018, PDF, 20 pages.
https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/resource/capital-militias-tripolis-armed-groups-capture-libyan-state
News Articles
February 15, 2024, "Libya's Armed Group Catch-22", The Washington Institute.
June 16, 2019, "Kingdom of Militias", Libya Tribune.
August 29, 2018, "Explainer: Militias in the Libyan capital Triploi - who's who?", BBC.
June 22, 2018, "Tripoli: A kaleidoscope", by Erin Neale & Yousuf Eltagouri, Atlantic Council. Chart of larger militia groups and their areas of operation in Tripoli.
December 5, 2015, "Who Are Tripoli's Most Important Militias?", Libya Analysis.
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Endnotes
1. A Political Economy of Zawiya: Armed Groups and
Society in a Western Libyan City, by Wolfram Lacher, Small
Arms Survey, March 2024, PDF, 84 pages.
https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-SANA-Report-2024-Zawiya-EN.pdf
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