, image = , alt = , caption = , image2 = , alt2 = , caption2 = , motto = , founded = , current_form = 2014 (

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 ...

)
2016 (

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 ...

) , disbanded = , branches =

(HoR-backed)

(GNU-backed)

, headquarters = Tripoli (

GNU GNU () is an extensive collection of free software (383 packages as of January 2022), which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operat ...

-backed)

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...

(

HoR Hor Awibre (also known as Hor I) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt, 13th Dynasty reigning from c. 1777 BC until 1775 BCK.S.B. Ryholt, ''The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period'', ''Carsten ...

-backed) , flying_hours = , website = , commander-in-chief =

Mohamed al-Menfi Mohamed Yunus al-Menfi ( ar, محمد يونس المنفي; born 3 March 1976) is a Libyan diplomat and politician from Tobruk. On 5 February 2021, he was chosen as the president of the Libyan Presidential Council at the Libyan Political Di ...

(

Government of National Unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

)

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 ...

(

) , commander-in-chief_title = , chief minister = , chief minister_title = , minister = , minister_title =

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, chief_of_staff = , chief_of_staff_title = , commander = Abdulrahman Al-Tawil , commander_title = Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces , age = 18 (2012) , conscription = , manpower_data = , manpower_age = , available = , available_f = , fit = , fit_f = , reaching = , reaching_f = , active = cc 32,000+(GNU-backed Libyan Armed forces)
cc 100,000+ (HoR-backed Libyan National Army) , ranked = , reserve = , deployed = , amount = , percent_GDP = , domestic_suppliers = , foreign_suppliers = Historic:

, imports = , exports = , history = , ranks =

Military ranks of Libya The Military ranks of Libya are the military insignia used by the Libyan Armed Forces. The rank insignia was inspired by the armed forces of the United Kingdom, which trained the forces of the Kingdom of Libya during its Allied occupation up until ...

The Libyan Armed Forces ( ar, القوات المسلحة الليبية) are, in principle, the state organisation responsible for the military defence of

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 the east, Suda ...

, including ground, air and naval forces.Africa :: Libya -- The World Factbook
CIA. The original army under the Libyan monarchy of

King Idris I Muhammad Idris bin Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi ( ar, إدريس, Idrīs; 13 March 1890 – 25 May 1983) was a Libyan political and religious leader who was King of Libya from 24 December 1951 until his overthrow on 1 September 1969. He ruled ov ...

was trained by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Since Muammar Gaddafi rose to power in 1969, Libya received military assistance from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. The Libyan military fought in several wars, including the Libyan–Egyptian War (1977) and the Chadian–Libyan conflict (1978–1987). After the 2011 civil war and the fall of Gaddafi, the armed forces consisted mostly of local militias that were frequently created or ceased to be active and made temporary shifting alliances. During 2015–2018, after

was appointed in 2015 by the Libyan parliament in

as the supreme commander of the armed forces, he unified many militias into a regular hierarchical structure in the eastern part of Libya that became known as the core of the

(LNA). , the regular core of the LNA (about soldiers) was complemented by Salafist militias and foreign mercenaries (about soldiers). , the internationally recognised

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. ...

(GNA) retained formal control of the militias nominally constituting the

, while 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 ...

was split into LNA and GNA controlled components. The naval and

coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

forces were mostly under GNA control. with some coastal patrol boats under LNA control. In 2021, all the armed forces branches (except for the Haftar's forces) will under command of the new President of Libya,

from

after 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 ...

ceasefire.

Kingdom of Libya (1951–1969)

The United Kingdom of Libya officially gained its independence from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on 24 December 1951. The kingdom was later renamed as the

Kingdom of Libya The Kingdom of Libya ( ar, المملكة الليبية, lit=Libyan Kingdom, translit=Al-Mamlakah Al-Lībiyya; it, Regno di Libia), known as the United Kingdom of Libya from 1951 to 1963, was a constitutional monarchy in North Africa which ca ...

in 1963. Under the Libyan monarchy, there existed a federal army and local provincial police forces. The U.S. State Department reported in 1957 that the army numbered 1,835 men, while the police forces had around 5,000–6,000. King Idris of Libya and his government relied on the police for internal security and were anxious to increase the size of the national army to 5,000 troops. The

had the primary role of training the Libyan Army, but the

also contributed to training a 1,035-man contingent and was considering taking responsibility for training the entire army. The U.S. also supplied the Royal Libyan Air Force, coming to an agreement in May 1957 to supply Libya with 10

Northrop F-5 The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and t ...

Libyan Arab Republic and Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1969–2011)

A group of young officers and soldiers led by Muammar Gaddafi overthrew King Idris in a coup d'etat on 1 September 1969. The King's nephew and

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

Hasan, was captured by the rebels and spent several years under house arrest. The new

under Gaddafi's Libyan Arab Republic fought a short border war with Egypt in July 1977, sent several thousand troops to support

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

during the

Uganda–Tanzania War The Uganda–Tanzania War, known in Tanzania as the Kagera War (Kiswahili: ''Vita vya Kagera'') and in Uganda as the 1979 Liberation War, was fought between Uganda and Tanzania from October 1978 until June 1979 and led to the overthrow of Ugan ...

in 1972 and again in 1978, and spent a decade trying to annex parts of northern Chad in 1978–1987. The Libyan army was estimated to have 50,000 total troops as of 2009.

Transition period (2011–2014)

During the 2011–2014 transition period, the Libyan armed forces consisted mostly of a shifting ensemble of militias being created and dissolved and creating and dropping alliances.

Units

17th Thunderbolt Special Forces Brigade

# based in Tripoli (2013).

27th Brigade

Leader: Mohammed Buzeiud; trained at

Bassingbourn Barracks Bassingbourn Barracks is a Ministry of Defence installation located north of Royston, Hertfordshire and southwest of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. History Early history The barracks were established, on the site of the former RAF Bassing ...

, UK (2014) # based in Tripoli (2013).

Second civil war (2014–2020)

, since the start of the

in 2014, the Libyan armed forces, composed to a large degree of militias, have been partially led by the internationally recognised

(GNA) in Tripoli, while remaining highly divided between those nominally led by the GNA and those nominally led by

in command of the

(LNA) on behalf of the part of the

national parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

.Serraj appoints military chief of staff
''Libya Herald''. Published 1 September 2017. The forces included ground forces divided between the GNA-led

(including militia coalitions such as the

Tripoli Protection Force The Tripoli Protection Force is a militia that was formed from the merger of four pro-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 th ...

) and the LNA; the

also divided between a GNA component and an LNA component; while the naval, and

forces were mostly under GNA control with some coastal patrol boats under LNA control.

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

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 ...

, the head of the GNA, is nominally the supreme commander of the GNA forces.PC President forms joint military operations room as war rocks Tripoli yet again
''Libya Observer''. Published 6 April 2019. The military is under the authority of the GNA Ministry of Defense, formerly led by Colonel

Al-Mahdi Al-Barghathi Al-Mahdi Al-Barghathi is a Libyan National Army officer who served as the Minister of Defense in the Libyan Government of National Accord, from January 2016 until July 2018. He is an army commander from eastern Libya who had formerly served under G ...

from 2016Ayyub, Sabe
Opposing reactions to appointment of unity government’s defence minister
. ''Libya Herald''. Published 21 January 2016. to 2018, at which point Sarraj took over as defense minister.Libyan Presidential Council gives its Defense Minister the sack
''Libya Observer''. Published 29 July 2018. During 2015–2018, the LNA under Haftar's control unified many militias into a regular hierarchical structure in the eastern part of Libya and used online social networks to present the image of growing military and political power, while still remaining, , dominated by

Salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...

militias and foreign members. , the LNA consisted of about regular soldiers and militia and foreign members.

References

*https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976TRIPOL01169_b.html - parade 1976 {{Military of Africa Military of Libya