Brigade 93 is one of many

militias A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

that formed in the wake of 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 ...

. It is based in

Bani Walid Bani Walid (Anglicized: ; ar, بني وليد, Banī Walīd, Libyan pronunciation: ) is a city in Libya located in the Misrata District. Prior to 2007, it was the capital of Sof-Aljeen District. Bani Walid has an airport. Under the Libyan Ar ...

, a former stronghold of the

Gaddafi regime Muammar Gaddafi became the ''de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. After the king had fled the country, the Revolutionary Comman ...

. The militia is mainly composed of those still loyal to

Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

. The brigade is named after the 1993 attempted coup against Gaddafi by members of the

Warfalla The Warfalla ( ar, ورفلة) is a tribe that resides in the west of Libya, in the town of Bani Walid, their stronghold. Usually estimated to be Libya’s largest tribe with up to one million of the total population of about 6 million people, the ...

tribe. Salem al-Ouaer, a member of the Warfalla tribe who sided with Gaddafi during the coup, is believed to head the militia. In January 2012, the brigade was involved in the green-revolution in Bani Walid. On 25 of January, their unexpected uprising led to the retreat of the NTC forces from Bani Walid.

Weapons and equipment

The brigade was said to possess heavy weapons, including 106 mm anti-tank guns. When they took over the May 28 Brigade base, they took heavy equipment, most notably tanks. In this video filmed after the takeover of the base by AFP, at least 4 tanks and a Grad rocket launcher are seen among the equipment captured by the Brigade 93.

References

{{Reflist History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi Second Libyan Civil War Aftermath of the First Libyan Civil War Rebel groups in Libya