Pro-Government Militias
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
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.