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Source: Arabia.net – Monia Ghanmi
The recent dispute between the head of the Presidential Council in Libya, Fayez al-Sarraj, and his interior minister, Fathi Bashagha, revealed a supporter of the militia behind Bashagha led by the city of Misurata, the stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood and the mighty countryside in the Libyan west supported by Turkey.
The supporters of the suspended precautionary minister, and his loyalists, did not miss the opportunity to reinforce this perception, especially after the military parade of militias affiliated with the city of Misurata at his reception upon his return from Turkey, hours after the decision to suspend him from the work and subject him to investigation for his positions and interventions in recent protest demonstrations in the capital, Tripoli, against the Government of National Accord.
Although al-Sarraj relied on the Misrata militias to repel the Libyan army’s attack on the capital, its recognition and annexation of government agencies, as well as allocating huge funds to it, he opposed his decision to arrest and subdue the Minister of the Interior. investigation and issued threats to act against him.
Misurata and Bashagha
The Misurata militia is the largest force in the cities of western Libya, as it has more than 17 thousand fighters, thousands of armed vehicles, hundreds of tanks and dozens of military aircraft, in addition to weapons stores, as it receives a large support from Turkey and has the confidence of its officials, both for ideological and social considerations.
According to information compiled by Al-Arabiya.net, Misrata does not absolutely support the Minister of the Interior, as his supporters try to commercialize, as he does not have the support of all the armed militias there, whose loyalties are divided among the leaders of the city in power, including the governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Al-Siddiq al-Kabir.
Hattin Militia
But Bashagha, who is considered today as the most important figure in western Libya, draws his power from the “Hattin Militia”, the third largest armed militia in Misrata and formerly one of its leaders and fought in its ranks, and he also has the support of the “Morsi Brigade” that he formed. And he participated in the Libyan Dawn militia attack on the capital, Tripoli, in 2014.
Loyal to Fathi Bashagha in Tripoli (Archive – Reuters)
Furthermore, “Militia 166” emerged as a force in support of Bashagha and opposed the decision to arrest him and subject him to investigation. He even got into a dispute with Al-Sarraj and threatened its leader, Muhammad Al-Hussan, with defecting from the reconciliation government and revealing files of corruption, if Bashagha would let him.
Salah badi
In the same context, the “Al-Samoud Militia”, which is one of the largest and strongest armed militias in Misrata and western Libya, led by the terrorist who has been on the sanctions list of the Security Council of the UN since November 2018 for allegedly destabilizing security in Libya, Salah Badi represents strong support for Bashagha. From the occasion of your support to him until he put all his strength at his disposal.
Bashagha also has influence over the “Mahjoub Brigade militia” as well as the “Third Force Militia”, most of whose members come from the city of Misurata, and with them the “Sherikhan militia”, in addition to the ” Tajin militia “who lines up behind him and pushes to be the man of the next stage.
Salah badi
On the other hand, Fayez al-Sarraj managed to some extent to divide the loyalty of the “Halbus Brigade”, the largest and most armed military battalion in Misrata, after his decision to appoint its former commander, “Muhammad Ali Al- Haddad “, a native of the city of Misurata, as Chief of the General Staff of the Al-Wefaq Forces. The royal of this battalion follows the blacksmith and opposes Bashagha.
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