Suleiman Mahmoud
Born	1949 Tobruk, Emirate of Cyrenaica
Died	(2020-10-06)6 October 2020 (aged 70–71) Tripoli, Libya
Allegiance	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (until Libyan Civil War) National Transitional Council (2011–2020)
Branch	Army
Rank	Major General
Commands	Tobruk Military Region National Liberation Army
Conflicts	Libyan Civil War

Suleiman Mahmoud al-Obeidi (Arabic: سليمان محمود العبيدي, romanized: Sulaymān Maḥmūd al-ʻUbaydī; 1949 – 6 October 2020)^[1] was a senior military officer of the Gaddafi regime in Libya who defected to the opposition during the Libyan Civil War.

Career

He was formerly a commander in Muammar Gaddafi's army. He was commander of the Tobruk Military Region.^[2] He was amongst the first of the army hierarchy to defect to the opposition during the Libyan Civil War.^[3][4] Around half of the estimated 6,000 troops who joined the rebels took their orders from General Mahmoud^[5] prior to the 28 July 2011 assassination of General Abdul Fatah Younis, the top commander of the National Liberation Army. The Associated Press reported the next day that Mahmoud succeeded Younis as army commander.^[6]

Mahmoud moved his headquarters to Tripoli after the success of Operation Mermaid Dawn. As of early September 2011, he reportedly maintained a separate force from Abdelhakim Belhadj, the head of the Tripoli Military Council, though the two men were ostensibly working to integrate the anti-Gaddafi forces in western Libya into a cohesive military under the aegis of the National Transitional Council.^[7]

In 2014, he opposed Khalifa Haftar's Operation Dignity and vocally criticized Haftar while living in Tobruk despite the fact that the Tobruk government was aligned with Haftar. He relocated to Tripoli after Haftar tried to seize Tripoli.^[8]

Death

On 6 October 2020, Mahmoud died from COVID-19 at the age of 71 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Libya.^[1]

References

External links

• Suleiman Mahmoud collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
  • English Aljazeera interview of General Suleiman Mahmoud