Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries
| Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries | |
|---|---|
|
مجلس شورى ثوار بنغازي Participant in the Second Libyan Civil War |
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| Active | 20 June 2014–Present |
| Ideology |
Islamism Jihadism |
| Leaders |
Mohamed al-Zahawi † Ismail Muhammad al-Salabi |
| Area of operations | Benghazi |
| Strength | At least 4,500 |
| Opponents |
 Operation Dignity coalition
|
| Battles and wars | Second Libyan Civil War |
The Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries (Arabic: مجلس شورى ثوار بنغازي, Majlis Shura Thuwar Benghazi) is a military coalition in Benghazi composed of Islamist and jihadist militias, including Ansar al-Sharia, Libya Shield 1, and several other groups.
The force was initially formed in June 2014, in response both to the anti-Islamist Operation Dignity being led by Khalifa Haftar, and also the defeat of Islamist candidates in the 2014 Council of Deputies election. Afraid of being sidelined and defeated, several Islamist brigades united under a shared umbrella. The consolidation and restructuring allowed the Islamist brigades to limit the success of Haftar's Operation Dignity, before allowing the Islamist groups to push back against the outnumbered forces allied to Haftar.
On 14 July 2014, the council claimed it had taken over Barrack 319, which is one of the largest army barracks in eastern Libya. In late July, they took control of more than five other barracks in Benghazi, including the headquarters of the Al-Saiqa Special Forces unit. On 31 July 2014, the council claimed to have had taken over Benghazi. However it lost control of much of the city to the Libyan National Army in the following months.
As of August 2014, the council was composed of the following groups, among others:
Formed in June 2016 to protect Bengazi and the Shura Council from the Libyan National Army, the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) included various Libya Dawn militias and was organized under the banner of Saddiq Al-Ghariyani. It pledged to support the Government of National Accord (GNA). The GNA members are ambivalent about the BDB with some calling for it to be demarcated as a "terrorist organization". It certaining has links with the jihadist militias, and is apparently opposed to the Presidential Council of the GNA, while at the same time working under Mahdi Al-Barghathi, the Defence Minister of the GNA.
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