| Country: | Libya |
| 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). |
| 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). |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Weapons and Training: | -- |
| 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. |
| Reason 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. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | -- |
| 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 |
| References: | Wikipedia. “Libya Shield Force”. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Libya_Shield_Force&oldid=965644096 |