Al-Mahdi Al-Barghathi is a

Libyan National Army The Libyan National Army (LNA; ar, الجيش الوطني الليبي, ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii'') is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa ...

officer who served as the Minister of Defense in the Libyan

Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord ( ar, حكومة الوفاق الوطني) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. ...

, from January 2016 until July 2018. He is an army commander from eastern Libya who had formerly served under General

Khalifa Haftar Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar ( ar, خليفة بلقاسم حفتر, Ḵalīfa Bilqāsim Ḥaftar; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LN ...

during the

Second Libyan Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Second Libyan Civil War , partof = the Arab Winter, Libyan Crisis, Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, War on terror, and Qatar–Saudi Arabia diplomatic conflict , image ...

before joining the internationally-recognised unity government.

Biography

Al-Barghathi was born in Benghazi and fought in the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

against the forces of Muammar Qaddafi, being among the first officers to join the rebels. In 2014 he joined General Khalifa Haftar's Operation Dignity against the Islamists in the

General National Congress The General National Congress or General National Council (GNC; ar, المؤتمر الوطني العام, Berber: Agraw Amuran Amatay) was the legislative authority of Libya for two years following the end of the First Libyan Civil War. It w ...

and commanded the 204 Tank Brigade. He reportedly became a popular officer in the Libyan armed forces for personally fighting on the front line with the troops.Ayyub, Sabe
Opposing reactions to appointment of unity government’s defence minister
. ''Libya Herald''. Published 21 January 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016. Al-Barghathi's appointment as the minister of defense of the

in January 2016, formed with international support to reunify Libya, caused disagreements with Field Marshal Haftar. The general believes he is not fit for the role and opposes his appointment. Also, Al-Barghathi is an ally of Ibrahim Jadhran, leader of the Petroleum Facilities Guards and rival of Haftar. Al-Barghathi stated he remains loyal to the army as an institution and is determined to run it effectively. The

Libyan Air Force The Libyan Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الليبية) is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,00 ...

chief of staff under Haftar, Saqr Geroushi, said that al-Barghathi should be arrested for becoming the defense minister in the GNA without the commander-in-chief's permission. It was reported that he personally led Libyan unity government forces during the offensive to retake the city of Sirte from the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

. In March 2017, after Haftar's LNA seized control of the oil facilities in eastern Libya, Al-Barghathi was accused of supporting the Benghazi Defense Brigades that fought against the LNA. However, he denied this allegations. In May 2017, GNA Prime Minister Fayez Seraj announced that Al-Barghathi was suspended as defense minister after being suspected of involving in the Brak Al-Shati massacre. By December 2017 it appeared that he is no longer suspended and resumed his role as defense minister. Early that month, he visited Libyan soldiers receiving medical treatment in neighboring

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. In July 2018 he was removed from the office after disagreements with Prime Minister

Fayez al-Sarraj Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj ( ar, فائز السراج or ; born 20 February 1960) is a Libyan politician who served as the Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya and Head of Government of the Government of National Accord from 2016 to 2021 ...

.Libyan Presidential Council gives its Defense Minister the sack
Libya Observer. Published 29 July 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barghathi, Al-Mahdi Libyan generals People of the First Libyan Civil War People from Benghazi Living people Year of birth missing (living people)