DTN News - LIBYA TODAY: Libyan Military Graduates Marching Towards A Fresh Libya Of Today
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 20, 2012: Cadets march during a military graduation parade, during celebrations to mark the one-year anniversary of the revolutionary uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, in Tripoli February 20, 2012.
The Libyan Armed Forces are the military of Libya, though due to the 2011 Libyan civil war, the organisation is in a state of transition. As of early 2012, the armed forces primarily consist of elements of the former national army and certain former anti-Gaddafi militias that have accepted the authority of the National Transitional Council over military matters. Throughout much of Libya, including the capital Tripoli, the Libyan Armed Forces contend for primacy with a number of regionally based militias, with uneasy cooperation occasionally giving way to armed clashes.
Previously, the Gaddafi-era armed forces consisted of the Libyan Army, Libyan Air Force and the Libyan Navy with other services which include the People's Militia. In the leadup to or during the 2011 Libyan civil war, the total number of Libyan personnel was estimated at 76,000 though the 2011 Libyan civil war wore the military's numbers away. There was no separate defence ministry; all defence activities were centralised under Gaddafi. There was a High Command of the Armed Forces (al-Qiyada al-ulya lil-quwwat al-musallaha). Arms production is limited and manufacturers are state-owned. Colonel Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr was the last minister of defence of the Gaddafi-era military.
