Mary Fitzgerald and Mattia Toaldo have recently updated their guide to Libya’s main players for the European Council on Foreign Relations. Outlining the key political groups, armed groups, and jihadists the guide also features detail maps of armed groups, centers of power and key infrastructure. In the guide the authors explore the state of some of the Zintani armed groups:
A number of Zintani forces have distanced themselves from Haftar – particularly those close to former defence minister Osama Jweili – while others remain supportive. As commander of the GNA’s western region military zone, Jweili led an offensive in the Wershefana territory on Tripoli’s hinterland in November 2017 with a coalition that included forces from Zintan, Tripoli – among them Haithem Tajouri’s TRB – and Tarhouna. While ostensibly “anti-crime”, the operation also served to undermine LNA-affiliated groups in the area.
Click here to read the guide.