PICS: A rogues' gallery of militias prepare for war in Libya
Fighters under the UN-backed government on the front lines during clashes in southern Tripoli. The self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, launched a surprise offensive to retake Tripoli on April 5, 2019, from the transitional government supported by UN and Western nations led by Fayez Sarraj. Picture: Mohamed Ben Khalifa/APItalian premier Giuseppe Conte, left, poses with the head of the self-styled Libyan National Army Khalifa Hifter, in Benghazi, Libya.
Hifter, who served as a military officer under Gadhafi before defecting in the 1980s, has presented himself as a strong leader who can unify the country. He has spent the last few years battling extremist groups and other rivals in eastern Libya with aid from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia and France. He now controls most of eastern Libya, including the country's main oil facilities, and has recently made inroads across the south.
Their heavy weapons and air power give them an advantage in open areas. But they have struggled in urban combat, and their campaigns in the east have left a swath of destruction in Benghazi and other cities. A similar scenario could play out in Tripoli, with local militias luring Hifter's forces into the city and fighting block by block.The UN and Western nations support a transitional government set up in Tripoli in 2016 and led by Fayez Sarraj, a technocrat with no military experience.
The Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade is led by Haitham al-Tajuri, who was a bus driver before the 2011 uprising but now tools around the capital in a white Mercedes SUV, sporting clothes by Versace and Dolce & Gabbana. His forces control much of Tripoli, including the southern outskirts. Zawiya is home to the Martyrs of Victory Brigade, another powerful militia that has joined the alliance against Hifter. Militiamen from Zawiya captured 100 of Hifter's fighters the day after he launched his offensive.A loose alliance of militias, including some affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood group, seized Tripoli in 2014 after their rivals won disputed parliamentary elections.
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