Pro-Government Militias

Pro-Government Militia Website

Revolutionary Committees (Libya)

Basic Group Information

Name assigned by coder: no
PGM ID Number: 55
Country: Libya
Date formed: Jan. 1, 1977
    Accuracy of date formed: year
Details of Formation: The Revolutionary Committees were instituted and encouraged by Gaddafi in 1977.
Date dissolved: Aug. 23, 2011
    Accuracy of date dissolved: day
Details of Termination: The group was loyal to Gaddafi. It is therefore coded as terminated the day the NTC is recognized as new Libyan government in August 2011.
Termination Type(s): change in government

Former and Successor Group Information

Predecessor group(s): none
Successor group(s): none
Private Military Company? no
Former Group? no
    Former Armed Group? no
Former Rebel Group? no
    Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: none
PGM Becomes Rebel Group? no information
    Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: none

Government Relation, Support, and Training

Government Relation: semi-official (type 2)
Created by the Government?: yes
    Main Creating Government Institution: person/minister
Government Link(s): person/minister
    If link to party, name of party: None
Training and Equipment: no information
Shared Information and Joint Operations: yes
Shared Personnel: yes
Type(s) of Material Support: domestic government
State Sponsor(s): none
Other Connection(s):

Group Characteristics

Membership: ethnic; ideology; adolescents; foreign nationals
Primary Membership: ideological
Alternative Primary Membership: no information
Location: Sabratha, Al-Baida, Tripoli
Force Strength: [200, 25000]
Target(s): civilians; unarmed political opposition, government critics; foreigners
Purpose(s): protect state, national or religious institutions; protect national borders and integrity; intelligence gathering; intimidate political opposition

Ethnic Characteristics

Ethnic Target(s): none
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: not applicable
Ethnic Membership: none
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: inferred
Ethnic Purpose: none
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: not applicable

Other Information

Other Information: The Revolutionary Committees are similar to the Revolutionary Guards in Iran. They were active on every level of society.

New Variables from Meta-Analysis

Purpose

Purpose: The primary purpose of this group was to gather intelligence on the population (Amnesty International 2011, Wikipedia). After the coup attempt of 1984, Gaddafi relied heavily on it, because he had lost trust in the army.
Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use knowledge; coup-proofing

Treatment of Civilians

Treatment of Civilians: After the coup attempt of 1984, the Revolutionary Committees arrested and interrogated between 2,000-20,000 people, mainly civilians. In 1986, there are reports that they arrested people arbitrarily and seized property and run hit squads to kill Libyan exiles. In 1995, the Revolutionary Committees forced the population to sign a petition calling for the execution of nine people, some of them were civilians (Amensty International 1995). In 2011, they carried out targeted and indiscriminate armed attacks, with civilian victims (Amnesty International 2011). That year, a news source reports that they used live ammunition against protesters, killing at least four.
Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: killing

Reasons for Membership

PGM Members Coerced? no information
PGM Members Paid? no information
Reasons for Membership: Members are characterized by their support for Gaddafi. Many are from poor backgrounds and/or reliable tribes.
PGM Members Killed? no information

PGM Size

Size: A news source from 1984 estimates membership to be between 300-400 civilians. In 1992, another news source mentions a membership of 25,000. Around 10-20% of the population is estimated to have worked in surveillance for these committees (Wikipedia).

Weapons and Training

Weapons and Training: The government supplied the Revolutionary Committees with large supplies of arms and ammunition. In 2011, witnesses saw members of the Revolutionary Committees with machine guns.

Organisation

Organisation: In 1986, a news source reports that the Revolutionary Committees were headed by Maj. Abdul Salam Jalloud, Libya’s number 2 leader. It was part of the “revolutionary sector” headed by Gaddafi, the Revolutionary Committees and members of the Revolutionary Command Council. It had large political powers, which were curtailed by Gaddafi in 1988 due to popular dissatisfaction (Wikipedia).

Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis

Amnesty International. 1995. “Further information on UA 113/94.” AI Index: MDE 19/03/95
(I could not find information on the date of publication, but from the publications’ information (deadline of sending telegrams, and information on content) it can be inferred that it was 1995.

Amnesty International. 2011. “Tensions rise in Benghazi as al-Gaddafi forces mount attacks.“ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2011/03/tensions-rise-in-benghazi-as-al-gaddafi-forces-mount-attacks/

Wikipedia. “Politics of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi”. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_Libya_under_Muammar_Gaddafi&oldid=959470641

Evidence