Pro-Government Militias
The Libya Shield Force (National Shield) (Libya)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 606 |
| Country: | Libya |
| Date formed: | Jan. 1, 2012 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | year |
| Details of Formation: | According to news sources, the LSF are a bottom-up initiative by brigade commanders who created the LSF as an umbrella network of smaller militias in 2012. According to Wikipedia, however, the LSF were founded on March 8, 2012 by a decision of the Libyan Ministry of Defense (Wikipedia). |
| Date dissolved: | Aug. 4, 2014 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | The LSF aligned with the GNC against Haftar. It is coded as terminated when the HoR government took over in August 2014. Subsequently Libyan Shield Forces aligned with Islamist groups, the GNC (which built a rival government) or the Shura Council of Begnhazi Revolutionary. The HoR government declared the LSF “terrorists” (Wikipedia). |
| 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? | yes |
| Former Armed Group? | yes |
| Former Rebel Group? | unclear |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | 5861 |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | yes |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | semi-official (type 2) |
| Created by the Government?: | no | Main Creating Government Institution: | none |
| Government Link(s): | person/minister; state (institution); military (institution) |
| If link to party, name of party: | None |
| Training and Equipment: | unclear |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | yes |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | unclear |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | religious; former rebels |
| Primary Membership: | local |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | political |
| Location: | Benghazi, Khums, Misrata, Zliten, Bani Walid, Zawiya, Gharyan, Tarhuna, Sabrata, Kufra, Sabha and Zuwara, Tripoli |
| Force Strength: | [6000, 12000] |
| Target(s): | rebels, insurgents, or other armed group; ethnic group; other pro-government militias |
| Purpose(s): | protect state, national or religious institutions; self-defense and security |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | Toubou (Libya) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | given |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | given |
Other Information
| Other Information: | Some parts of the LSF were found to be linked to al-Qaeda as early as 2012 (Wikipedia). The Group was set up as a temporary vehicle for integrating former rebel fighters into a cohesive national force, but clashed with other government-sponsored forces such as the special forces of the Libyan army. The LSF joined the Libya dawn coalition in 2014. The UCDP actor ID of the successor rebel group refers to the Libya Dawn movement that the LSF joined in 2014 |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The LSF had the purpose to provide security against tribal and ethnic fighting. They were, however, not neutral, and many times inflamed tensions in the areas where it was deployed. Relative advantages for the government include the use of the zeal and expertise of the revolutionary fighters, and the fact that they overshadowed regular forces which remained weak, ill-equipped and tainted by their affiliation with the Gaddafi regime. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | coup-proofing |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | unknown |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no |
| PGM Members Paid? | yes |
| Reasons for Membership: | Commanders joined the LSF with their militias in order to avoid incorporation into the regular army. Members of the LSF get higher salaries, which is an incentive for many to join. |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: | A news source of 2012 mentions membership to be 7,000 fighters. Another news source from 2014 estimates the existence of 6,000 to 12,000 fighters within the LSF. |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: |
Organisation
| Organisation: | According to Wikipedia, upon foundation the LSF was to be put under control of commander Colonel Mohammed Ibrahim Moussa (Wikipedia). According to news sources, LSF was under control of the chief of the National Army, Maj. Gen. Yousef al-Mangoush who thereby controlled two national armed forces. This was an attempt of the LSF to avoid the National Army bureaucracy. It reports to the Ministry of Defense and acts in parallel to the national army. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.