Revolutionary Guard Corps
Liwa Haris al-Jamahiriya
Active1980s–2011
Allegiance Libya
BranchParamilitary
Size3,000
Motto(s)Allah Muammar Libya wa bas
ColorsGreen
EquipmentT-55 T-62 SA-8 ZSU-23-4 FN P90 AK-103 FN FAL FN F2000
EngagementsToyota War
First Libyan Civil War
Insignia
Identification mark

The Revolutionary Guard Corps (Liwa Haris al-Jamahiriya) or Jamahiriyyah Guard was a Libyan paramilitary elite unit that played the role of key protection force of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, until his death in October 2011.[1] Composed of 3,000 men hand-picked from Gaddafi's tribal group in the Sirte region, the Guard was well armed, being provided with T-54 and T-62 tanks, APCs, MRLs, SA-8 SAMs and ZSU-23-4 anti-aircraft guns taken from the army inventory.[2][3] As of 2005, its commander was Hasan al-Kabir al-Gaddafi, a cousin of the former Libyan leader.[4][5][6]

History

The Revolutionary Guard developed from the Revolutionary Committees, even if the latter had at first been introduced only into workplaces and communities, and not extended to the Armed Forces. After the early 1980s, however, the Revolutionary Guard, as a paramilitary wing of the Revolutionary Committees, became entrenched within the military. They served as a parallel channel of control, a means of ideological indoctrination in the barracks, and an apparatus for monitoring suspicious behavior. The Revolutionary Guards reportedly held the keys to ammunition stockpiles at the main military bases, doling it out in small quantities as needed by the regular forces. Their influence increased after a coup attempt in May 1985, which was blocked mainly thanks to the action of the Revolutionary Guard that engaged regular Army units in a series of street battles in Tripoli.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gaddafi killed in hometown, Libya eyes future". Reuters. 2011-10-20.
  2. ^ Pollack, Kenneth M. (2002). Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991. University of Nebraska Press. p. 386. ISBN 0-8032-3733-2.
  3. ^ Cordesman, Anthony (2004). The Military Balance in the Middle East. Greenwood. p. 108. ISBN 0-275-98399-4.
  4. ^ Eljahmi, Mohamed (January 2006). "Libya and the U.S.: Qadhafi Unrepentant". Middle East Quarterly.
  5. ^ Eljahmi, Mohamed (Winter 2006). "Libya and the U.S.: Qadhafi Unrepentant". Middle East Quarterly. Middle East Forum. 13 (1).
  6. ^ Gershowitz, Suzanne (2005-04-15). "Same Old Kadafi". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 2009-04-18.
  7. ^ Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. (2004). Libya. US GPO. p. 267. ISBN 1-4191-3012-9.
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