Major General Osama al-Juwaili ( ar, أسامة الجويلي) 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 military officer who served as Minister of Defence in the government of

Abdurrahim El-Keib Abdurrahim Abdulhafiz El-Keib, PhD, ( ar, عبد الرحيم عبد الحفيظ الكيب; also transcribed ''Abdel Rahim AlKeeb,'' ''Abdul Raheem Al-Keeb,'' etc.; 2 March 1950 – 21 April 2020) was a Libyan politician, professor of electrica ...

, Libya's interim Prime Minister. Since the formation of the

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. Th ...

(GNA) in 2015, al-Juwaili served it as a senior commander, since 2017 being the commander of the Western Military Zone. On 6 April 2019 he became the commander of the joint operations room, created by 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, ...

to coordinate military operations since the start of the

2019 Western Libya offensive The Western Libya campaign was a military campaign initiated on 4 April 2019 by the Operation Flood of Dignity ( ar, عملية طوفان الكرامة) of the Libyan National Army, which represents the Libyan House of Representatives, to cap ...

. He fought in the 2011 civil war against 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 ...

. Immediately prior to his appointment on 22 November 2011, Juwali's

Zintan Brigade The Zintan Brigades are armed units linked to the town of Zintan and its surrounding area, allied to, but separate from, the Libyan National Army. They played a large part in the Libyan Revolution which overthrew Gaddafi and are currently heavil ...

, a band of anti-Gaddafi fighters based in

Zintan Zintan ( ar, الزنتان Latin: Tentheos, Berber language: ''Zintan'' or ''Tigharmin'' or ''Tiɣaṛmin'', meaning "small castles") is one of the biggest cities in north western Libya, situated roughly southwest of Tripoli, in the area. The ...

in Libya's Nafusa Mountains, located and captured Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, one of the former Libyan leader's most prominent sons, in the

Libyan Desert The Libyan Desert (not to be confused with the Libyan Sahara) is a geographical region filling the north-eastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval maps, its use predates t ...

. al-Juwaili is said to be aligned with the Tripoli Revolutionary Council (TRC) led by Abdullah Naker, who warned in an interview 18 November that his men could overthrow the government even before it was appointed if it failed to meet their demands for representation. Studied "Electronic Support" and Graduated from the Tripoli Military Academy in 1982, he remained to be a trainer at the academy until 1987. He resigned from the army in 1992 with rank of captain. Juwali was then appointed as head of the Vocational Guidance center in Yifrin part of the Libyan Ministry of Workforce and Training. He defected to the

anti-Gaddafi forces The anti-Gaddafi forces were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi, killing him in the process. These opposition forces included organized and armed militia groups, participants in the Libyan Civil ...

during the 2011 civil war, becoming the head of Zintan's military council. His uncle was reportedly a deputy governor of the

Central Bank of Libya The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) is the monetary authority in Libya. It has the status of an autonomous corporate body. The law establishing the CBL stipulates that the objectives of the central bank shall be to maintain monetary stability in Liby ...

under Gaddafi.

Political life

Juwaily met with Major General Isa Saif Al Mazrouie, Deputy Chief of Staff of the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Armed Forces in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

on 6 December 2011 and discussed areas of cooperation between the two countries and ways of enhancing them, especially in the military sector. Since January 2012 Juwaily is responsible for integrating the rival militias into a fully functioning army and police force.Libya to include rebels in military from January

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

, 26 December 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juwaily, Osama al- People of the First Libyan Civil War Libyan military personnel Members of the National Transitional Council Members of the Interim Government of Libya Defence ministers of Libya Libyan Sunni Muslims Living people 1961 births Date of birth missing (living people) People from Jabal al Gharbi District