Massoud Abdelhafid is a

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

n retired

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

during the government of

Muammar 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 ...

. He held various positions in government following the 1969 coup d'etat of Muammar Gaddafi, including Commander of Military Security, Governor of Southern Libya and Head of Security in Major Cities. He was a key figure in

's relations with neighbouring

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. Massoud Abdelhafid was a senior

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in the

Libyan Army The Libyan Army ( ar, الجيش الليبي) is the brand for a number of separate military forces in Libya, which are under the command of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). Since December 2015 the groups of t ...

during the Chadian–Libyan conflict. Known for his leadership of Libyan-backed insurrections and wars in Chad, he was referred to as "Mr Chad".

2011 Libyan civil war

The United Nations Security Council drafted a resolution naming 23 senior Libyan officials in the regime of

to be sanctioned. The resolution, which included travel bans and asset freezes, named Massoud Abdelhafid. Following the defection of

Abdul Fatah Younis Abdul Fatah Younis Al-Obeidi (; ar, عبد الفتاح يونس, sometimes transliterated ''Fattah Younis'' or ''Fattah Younes'' or ''Fatah Younes''; 1944 – 28 July 2011) was a senior military officer in Libya. He held the rank of major gene ...

, Gaddafi designated Abdelhafid as

interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. General Massoud Abdelhafid led the pro-Gaddafi forces in the city of Sabha during the

Battle of Sabha The Battle of Sabha was a battle between forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and rebel anti-Gaddafi forces for control of the desert oasis city of Sabha and a part of the Libyan Civil War. It was the second conflict in the city since t ...

and the

Fezzan campaign The Fezzan campaign was a military campaign conducted by the National Liberation Army to take control of southwestern Libya during the Libyan Civil War. During April to June 2011, anti-Gaddafi forces gained control of most of the eastern part o ...

. Abdelhafid was reported to have fled to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

alongside Interior Minister Nassr al-Mabrouk Abdullah.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdelhafid, Massoud Libyan Arab Socialist Union politicians Libyan generals Living people People of the First Libyan Civil War Year of birth missing (living people)