Libya

Libya

Up until 2012, Libya was officially known as the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الإشتراكية العظمى). Berbers are the oldest known inhabitants, but it was the Phoenicians who first colonized the region from Tyre (in Lebanon), by establishing trading posts along the coast. The largest of these colonies, Carthage, became the center of a great Punic culture and the Carthaginian Empire that spread across much of North Africa. Greek cities were also established along the coast between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, although they faced incursions from Carthage, Egypt, and Persia. Carthage was ultimately defeated by Rome during the Punic Wars, after which the three regions of Libya became a Roman province during the 1st century BCE and remained such until the decline of the Roman Empire in 5th century CE. The region would then be routed by the Vandals, and in the 6th century CE would become a part of the Byzantine Empire.

While Byzantium controlled much of the coast, Arab Islamic armies conquered the regions of the Libyan interior during the 7th century and ultimately wrested control of the remaining cities from the Byzantines. Over the course of the following centuries, Libya came under the rule of several Islamic dynasties, although Berber tribes continued to offer resistance in defense of their traditional life ways. A Norman invasion from Sicily in the 12th century weakened the Arab hold on Libya, and by the 16th century the lands were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire which maintained control until the early 20th century.

Weakened by corruption, revolt, and civil war, Ottoman rule eventually crumbled and was replaced during the "Scramble for Africa" by Italian rule. From 1912 until 1943, Italy administered the country as a colonial possession, adopting the name Libya in 1934, and enforcing their control militarily by suppressing a local resistance movement between 1928 to 1932. Following the abdication of Italy during Second World War, Libya was administered by both Britain and France, and in 1947 Italy officialy relinquished all claims to the territory. On November 21, 1949, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent and on December 24, 1951 the nation proclaimed itself the United Kingdom of Libya under the rule of King Idris.

Discovery of vast oil reserves enabled the monarchy to amass great wealth during subsequent years, but as a result popular resentment took hold, fueled by Nasserism and Arab nationalism spreading throughout the Middle East. On September 1, 1969, a small group of military officers led by 27-year-old army officer Muammar al-Gaddafi staged a coup d'état against King Idris, launching the Libyan Revolution. The officers abolished the monarchy, and proclaimed a new Libyan Arab Republic. Gaddafi was declared Revolutionary Leader and retained the position of national leader into the present period.

Under Muammar Gaddafi, Libya strongly promoted pan-Arabism (الوحدة العربية), fueled in part by Nasserism coming through neighboring Egypt, as well as the Ba'athism of Syria and Iraq. Throughout the 1970s, Gaddafi made several attemps to merge Arab nations together, including the Federation of Arab Republics (Libya, Egypt and Syria), which lasted between 1972 and 1977. Gaddafi's Armed Forces of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (القوات المسلحة للجماهيرية العربية الليبية) consisted of the Libyan Army, Libyan Air Force, Libyan Navy, and the People's Militia, with an estimated 119,000 active duty personnel in early 2011, and nearly a million reservists. Historically supportive of Arab nationalist and sovereignty movements, Libya was a vocal proponent of the PLO goal of liberating Palestine, and it is believed a number of training camps for international terrorist organizations were at one time sponsored in Libya. Gaddafi also supported the Lebanese Nationalist Movement (الحركة الوطنية اللبنانية) during the Lebanese Civil War, funneling around $100 million to Lebanese Shia causes. Around 500 Libyan troops were sent to Lebanon in 1976 as part of an Arab peacekeeping force. Libya has also intervened militarily in Chad on several occasions, but would ultimately be defeated and expelled during the Toyota War (December 16, 1986 to September 11, 1987). Insofar as camouflage goes, it is worth noting that, throughout most of Gaddafi's reign, the standard combat uniform of the Libyan Army was solid olive green; camouflage was reserved for units with special status - airborne troops, special forces ("lightning troops"), and loyalist personnel like the Revolutionary Guards.

Muammar Gaddafi played a prominent role in creating the African Union (AU), established in 2002, and in February 2009 was selected to be chairman for a year. Among the objectives of the AU are to achieve peace and security in Africa; and to promote democratic institutions, good governance and human rights. To this end, the AU has provided both intervention and peacekeeping forces to various nations in Africa.

In early 2011, brought about largely by regime changes in Tunisia and Egypt (resulting from the Arab Spring movement), anti-government protests and clashes with security forces swiftly turned into a full-scale Libyan Civil War. Between February and October of 2011, forces loyal to Gaddafi battled against the National Liberation Army, insurgent forces composed largely of civilians, fortified by defectors from the regular Libyan Army. The brutal and draconian methods employed by loyalist forces did nothing to enlist international support for the Libyan government, and within weeks a coalition of mostly NATO countries (boosted by United Nations Security Council resolution 1973) actively engaged in a military intervention (comprising air and naval support) with the aim of toppling the Gaddafi regime. Following the capture and execution of Colonel Gaddafi on 20 October 2011, the war was largely over. Formed in August of that year, the National Transitional Council was charged with creating an interim government and on 7 July 2012 the first parliamentary elections were held. The following month, the NTC handed over power to an elected General National Congress (GNC) whose job it would be to draft a new constitution and form a transitional government.

Ali Zeidan was sworn in as Prime Minister of Libya on 14 November 2012, but the country was far from stable, as Islamist elements engaged in numerous acts of vandalism, destruction of heritage sites, and the well-publicized attack on the American diplomatic compound on 11 September 2012. Zeidan was ousted by a parliamentary committee of the General National Congress (GNC) on 14 March 2014, and within two months, factional fighting between tribal militias and jihadist paramilitaries plunged the country into a Second Libyan Civil War. In June, new elections were held to elect a House of Representatives that would replace the GNC; however, the election was poorly attended & marred by violence, and the GNC refused to honor the election results. The country faced a stalement as the rival Tobruk-based House of Representatives and the Tripoli-based General National Congress could not come to agreement over who was the rightful government of the nation.

Despite attempts by international mediaries to broker a peaceful solution, terrorist acts increased throughout the country, and jihadists established an Islamic State in Libya when they seized power in Dirna and Sirte. Each faction had its own loyalist supporters internally, as well as external powers. During this time, the Armed Forces were effectively split into loyalists that supported the HoR (Libyan National Army, with elements of the Air Force and Navy) and those that supported the GNA (Libyan Army/Ground Forces, Libyan Air Force, and Libyan Navy), bolstered by numerous armed paramilitaries and militias on each side. To confuse matters further, a third rival government was formed by politicians from the GNC, calling itself the National Salvation Government, was supported militarily by its own private militias. Several Islamist groups also joined in the fighting during this time, including the Islamic State - Libya Province (ولاية ليبيا), Al-Queda in the Islamic Maghreb (تنظيم القاعدة في بلاد المغرب الإسلامي), and the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries (مجلس شورى ثوار بنغازي). The war lasted for six years, from May 2014 until a ceasefire was ratified in October 2020; the Government of National Unity (حكومة الوحدة الوطنية) was established in April 2021 to bring the two primary factions together into one government.

Since 2021, the Libyan Armed Forces ( القوات المسلحة الليبية) are the internationally accepted military forces in charge of defense of the nation. They comprise Libyan Army (Ground Forces), the Libyan Air Force, and the Libyan Navy, and are estimated at approximately 35,000 personnel.

Libyan Camouflage Patterns

• The Egyptian-designed "sand" or two-color desert pattern was worn by Libyan forces as far back as the 1970s. In 1976, for example, the 500-man contingent sent to Lebanon as part of the Arab League peacekeeping force were outfitted in Egyptian desert camouflage uniforms.

• As early as 1973, Libyan army personnel, in particular airborne and special forces troops, can be seen wearing a copy of the West German sumpfmuster camouflage pattern. The original Libyan pattern retains essentially the same coloration and shapes as the German version, but the uniforms are of Libyan design. There is some evidence to suggest that later versions had a slightly more olive tone to the dark brown elements, and more reddish tone than burgundy. This camouflage remained in distribution to some Libyan military personnel into 1980s, and reappeared during the First and Second Civil Wars, although it has fallen into use during the present era.

• During the wars with Chad some Libyan personnel were observed wearing the Belgian-inspired jigsaw camouflage design issued in Chad. It is likely these were simply captured uniforms, and their usage does not seem to be widespread.

• During the 1980s, a colorful "leopard spot" pattern was reputedly worn by some Libyan personnel, similar to that worn by Zaire. There is limited documentation of Libyans wearing these uniforms, but they seem to have seen very restricted distribution, possibly only to Gaddafi's Revolutionary Guard Corps or some similar unit with a highly elite status.

• First observed only in limited numbers during the Toyota War, and later during the uprising against Muammar al-Gaddafi, a four-color desert DPM design seems to have had some use with Libyan military forces. Early photos illustrate Libyans wearing essentially the same pattern worn by the United Arab Emirates during the Desert Storm period. The Libyan uniforms in photographs all have typical local-styling, and were probably contracted specifically for some unit of the armed forces.

• Quite mysteriously, elite Libyan units during the Toyota War era have been documented wearing a copy of the US six-color "chocolate chip" camouflage design, despite the fact that the original American pattern only saw widespread production in 1981. Most of the units associated with this pattern have elite designations, such as the 221st Thunderbolt Unit, and the majority of uniforms appear to be one-piece coveralls, although some two-piece uniforms are also seen.

• Also dating to the Toyota War period, some units of the Libyan Armed Forces wore a copy of the South-Korean "waves" pattern. Again, the majority of uniforms from this era retain a particular, simplistic style reminiscent of the OG 107 uniform of the United States. Many of these uniforms re-emerged during the First Libyan Civil War, and are particularly observed on National Transitional Council militia during the 2011-2012 era.

• Revived or perhaps just continued to see use throughough the 1980s and 1990s, slight color variations of the original chocolate chip camouflage design as well as new versions with completely different color palettes were very popular with Libyan forces during this time period. Many Libyan variations of the standard chocolate chip pattern have a slightly darker coloration and more constrasting colors, resembling designs worn during the 1990s by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and even Yemen. In some form or another, use of the chocolate chip design continued with Libyan forces into the modern era (2020s) and was only recently discarded by all but militia formations.

• Several other variations of the six-color "chocolate chip" design are also documented in use by various Libyan military and paramilitary personnel, including the People's Militia and Gaddafi's Revolutionary Guards. These variations often have a modified color palette, e.g. green-dominant, blue dominant, orange-dominant, etc. Seen below are several versions incorporating various colorways.

• Libyan forces did not start wearing copies of the US m81 woodland pattern until long after its influence had spread around the world. Indeed the earliest use of woodland camouflage by Libya was in the early 2000s. Thereafter, we can see a dramatic increase in woodland designs, leading to it being one of the most commonly encountered patterns during both the First and Second Civil War periods.

• A variation of the standard "chocolate chip" desert pattern incorporating only five colors (no black) has also been observed in recent years. This appears to be exactly the same pattern as worn in the United Arab Emirates.

• A variation of the standard six-color "chocolate chip" camouflage, known to have existed for many years but of undetermined origins, emerged in use with Libyan military forces during the brief civil war. The variations are nicknamed "barbed wire" due to the fact that the black shapes normally present in the chip elements of the design are shaped like the silhouette of old-fashioned barbed wire. The drawings of this design are very similar to those of the Kuwaiti pattern worn by their National Police and Installation guards. However, the colorways of the documented Libyan patterns are predominantly green and/or grey, as seen here. As both nationalist and revolutionary factions wore uniforms in this pattern during the conflict, it is impossible to document whether they were original stocks from Libyan government warehouses, or possibly sourced through an external party during the time other materiel was being sought.

• Additionally, a copy of the US tricolor desert pattern has also been worn, produced in Asia as are most other contemporary patterns. This is one of many patterns that continues in service with the Libyan National Army.

• In service with some units of the Libyan police force is a bright blue colorway of the "chocolate chip" camouflage design. This design continued in use with Ministry of Interior units into the post-Gaddaffi era, but appears to have been officially phased out in 2025.

• Another commonly encountered pattern within the Libyan police force is a blue woodland design seen here.

• During the rebellion of 2011 against General Gaddaffi, many insurgents have been documented wearing copies of the American designed UCP pattern. The source of these uniforms is unknown, but it is believed the pattern was not part of the Gaddafi-era Libyan government arsenal. This pattern, and uniforms copied in the US ACU style, are now in general circulation with many units of the LNA.

• The newly constituted Libyan National Army, established in 2011 by the National Transitional Council, began wearing a pixelated desert camouflage design - essentially copied from that worn by the UAE - in mid 2012. Itself a copy of the USMC MARPAT design, the pattern has a slightly modified colorway and lacks the USMC EGA symbol embedded in the US version. A full ensemble of uniform items have been produced in this pattern, including BDU, field jacket, sun hat, blocked field cap, and even boots.

• Another pixelated camouflage design adopted recently by the Libyan National Army is this one, copied from the USMC MARPAT design with a slightly altered colorway. This pattern, first produced in China, has seen use with military forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years as well.

• The Jordanian KA2 desert pattern, designed by Hyperstealth Industries, has appeared in limited numbers among some Libyan troops recently. It is uncertain whether the uniforms were available as a small, surplus quantity, or whether this nation will adopt them into standard circulation.

• As sourcing for military equipment has expanded, competing Asian contractors have offered different versions of the "pixelated desert" camouflage design based on the original desert MARPAT pattern. The variation seen here, having a more yellowish-tone that versions seen in the 2012-2013 period, has appeared in the 2019-2021 period, although it may have been in the supply system earlier.

• Commandos, probably of the Ministry of Interior or Federal Police, have been observed wearing uniforms in this Turkish camouflage design, having black & brown shapes with olive green & greyish-green background.

• A copy of the Trademarked commercial camouflage by Kryptek has been adopted by undetermined Libyan security force units circa 2017-18. Although based around the original Kryptek design, the coloration appears to vary a bit from any of the designs produced by that US-based company.

• Circa 2020-2021 saw yet another "pixelated desert" camouflage design in service with the Libyan National Army, this time incorporating slightly darker brown and tan shades. Although unquestionably sourced from the larger Asian garment manufacturing firms, this pattern has yet to emerge in use with other nations and may (at least initially) be a proprietary design created for the LNA.

• Since at least 2020, some elements of the Libyan National Army have been wearing a Chinese-made copy of Multicam.

Libyan Camouflage Designs for the African Union

The following six patterns were reputedly created specifically for use by the African Union (AU), possibly by Muammar al-Gaddafi himself. All six designs incorporate dark-colored shapes in the outline of the African continent, both small and large sized, on a lighter colored background. The variety of color combinations suggest different patterns would have been issued for different climates, terrains or missions, although it is also possible some of the patterns were intended for specific types of units (non-combatants, police, etc). Thus far, none of the patterns have been documented in use by the AU, but at least two of these have been worn by Libyan military or paramilitary personnel. The patterns have no official designation and as they are all identical but for the coloration we simply list them here together as a reference.