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Ali Kanna

Ali Kanna Sulayman (born 1945) is a Libyan lieutenant general of Tuareg origin.[1][2] He was the commander of Muammar Gaddafi's southern forces in the First Libyan Civil War.[3][4] After the end of the Fezzan campaign, he fled to Agadez and helped other Gaddafi loyalists, most notably air force commander Ali Sharif Al-Rifi, escape to Niger.[5]

In 2013, he returned to the Fezzan region of Libya.[6] He was subsequently involved in mediating the Ubari conflict. In 2015, he participated in negotiation in Doha to end the conflict between the Tuareg and the Toubou.[7][8]

In February 2019, Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, appointed Kanna as commander of the southern (Sabha) military zone.[9][4][10]

Biography

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In 2004, Kanna was appointed by Muammar Gaddafi to lead the newly formed Maghawir Brigade.[11][12] Based in Ubari, this brigade consisted of 3,000 Sahelian Tuaregs from Niger and Mali and thus were accused of being mercenaries in the First Libyan Civil War. After the fall of the Gaddafi regime, some members of the Maghawir Brigade joined the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad in Mali.[11][1]

After the fall of Tripoli on August 28, 2011, Bani Walid, Sirte, and Kanna's southern forces in Sebha were the only major cities still controlled by the Gaddafi regime.[13] On September 6, 2011, a large convoy of pro-Gaddafi Tuareg fighters in Kanna's southern battalion crossed into Algeria before entering Niger. Kanna was rumored to be part of this convoy, amidst rumor that Gaddafi himself and his son Saif al-Islam would catch up with this convoy and join Kanna en route to Burkina Faso.[3]

In 2013, Kanna reportedly returned to Libya from his exile in Niger.[6] After playing a role in mediating the Ubari conflict between the Tuareg and Toubou in 2015, Kanna called for the creation of a multi-ethnic army of the south (Fezzan army) that espoused Gaddafi's Jamahiriya ideology on May 17, 2016.[14][7]

On September 1, 2016, Kanna held a ceremony in Ghat to commemorate the 47th anniversary of Gaddafi's al-Fateh Revolution.[15][1]

In October 2016, officers controlling the southern Fezzan region unilaterally appointed Kanna as their commander without consulting Khalifa Haftar.[16] After his appointment, Kanna claimed that his forces would not be involved in politics and called for the unification of Libya between the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and the Tobruk-based House of Representatives. He also stated that the formation of “Libyan Arab Armed Forces in South Libya" was an internal matter for the southern region.[17]

In May 2017, Kanna's forces peacefully took control of the El Sharara oil field from Misrata's 13th Brigade militia.[6][18]

In June 2017, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was rumored to have joined Kanna's forces in Ubari after his release by Zintan.[19]

In July 2017, Kanna went to Algeria to meet with Algerian Minister of Foreign Affair, Abdelkader Messahel.[20] Kanna's Tuareg forces control the Ghat region bordering Algeria.[21] Kanna allegedly has close ties to Algerian intelligence.[12][22]

In January 2019, as Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army launched its Southern Libya offensive in the Second Libyan Civil War, Kanna called for the Government of National Accord to dissuade Haftar from destabilizing the Fezzan region.[23] In February 2019, Kanna was appointed by Fayez al-Sarraj as commander of the Fezzan region. His role was to defend the El Sharara oil field from being taken over by Haftar and to unite the Tuareg and Toubou militias against Haftar.[24] Kanna's appointment backfired as local public opinion appeared to strongly support Haftar's takeover and most of Fezzan, including Sabha and the El Sharara oil field, fell to Haftar.[25] In November 2019, Kanna criticized southern fighters who supported Haftar's Western Libya campaign and called on them to withdraw immediately.[26] As of June 2021, Kanna's Tuareg brigades remain in control of the Ghat, Ubari, Murzuk, and the Issine border crossing (the southern crossing point between Libya and Algeria).[27][28]

Kanna advocated for the unification of the Libyan armed forces while attending the graduation ceremony of the Ubari Military Training Center on September 28, 2022.[29][30]

References

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  1. ^ a b c McGregor (8 August 2017). "General Ali Kanna Sulayman and Libya's Qaddafist Revival | Aberfoyle International Security". Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  2. ^ "فى لقاء خاص .. الفريق كنة :هذه هي طبيعة علاقتي بالمشير حفتر وهذا هو موقفي من الإنتخابات - صحيفة المرصد الليبية" (in Arabic). 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  3. ^ a b "Negotiations over Bani Walid". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  4. ^ a b "Libye : le maréchal Haftar avance dans le sud-ouest et inquiète Tripoli – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 8 February 2019. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  5. ^ Ash, Nigel (2017-06-18). "Qaddafi's air force chief flies home from exile: report". LibyaHerald. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  6. ^ a b c Hummel, Kristina (2017-11-27). "Europe's True Southern Frontier: The General, the Jihadis, and the High-Stakes Contest for Libya's Fezzan Region". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  7. ^ a b "Libye, le général Ali Kana veut unifier les tribus du Sud". parismatch.com (in French). 22 May 2016. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  8. ^ "Niger : après les Toubous, les Touaregs vont-ils eux aussi reprendre les armes ? – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 14 September 2016. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  9. ^ "Libya: Al-Sirraj appoints Ali Kanna commander of Sabha military zone | The Libya Observer". libyaobserver.ly. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  10. ^ Macé, Célian. "Le maréchal Haftar fait des ricochets au Sahara". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  11. ^ a b "Small Arms Survey - Dispatch 3". archive.wikiwix.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  12. ^ a b Murray, Rebecca (April 2017). "Southern Libya destabilized: The case for Ubari" (PDF). Small Arms Survey.
  13. ^ "Bani Walid holds out for Gaddafi, set terms-source". Reuters. 2011-09-02. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  14. ^ "Libye : Saïf al-Islam peut-il revenir au pouvoir ?". Middle East Eye édition française (in French). Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  15. ^ "Le général Ali KANA fidèle à la Jamahiriya Arabe Libyenne et à l'héritage de Mouammar Kadhafi – La Voix De La Libye". lavoixdelalibye.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  16. ^ Ash, Nigel (2016-10-08). "Southern commanders distance themselves from Hafter". LibyaHerald. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  17. ^ "Armed groups in south Libya abandon Dignity Operation | The Libya Observer". libyaobserver.ly. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  18. ^ Ash, Nigel (2017-05-25). "LNA takes Tamenhint airbase as Misratans withdraw north". LibyaHerald. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  19. ^ Cousins, Michel (2017-08-24). "Saif Al-Islam reported in Wershifana area". LibyaHerald. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  20. ^ "LIBYA : Ali Kanna pays Messahel a visit - 13/07/2017 - Maghreb Confidential". Africa Intelligence. 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  21. ^ "Algeria: Haftar 'did not' take control of border crossing". Middle East Monitor. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  22. ^ "En Libye, les avancées du maréchal Haftar rebattent les cartes de la crise". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  23. ^ Zaptia, Sami (2019-02-08). "Tensions rise in south as multiplicity of forces enter the power play". LibyaHerald. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  24. ^ "Feuding tribes unite as new civil war looms in Libya's south". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  25. ^ Lacher, Wolfram (2021-12-20). "Social Cleavages and Armed Group Consolidation: The Case of Khalifa Haftar's Libyan Arab Armed Forces". Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 47 (9): 1065–1089. doi:10.1080/1057610X.2021.2013757. ISSN 1057-610X. S2CID 245403078.
  26. ^ "Sabha military commander slams southern Libyan fighters who support Haftar's Tripoli offensive | The Libya Observer". libyaobserver.ly. 26 December 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  27. ^ "Libya: Did Haftar really seize an Algerian border post?". The Africa Report.com. 2021-06-26. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  28. ^ "Algeria: Haftar 'did not' take control of border crossing". Middle East Monitor. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  29. ^ "Generale Ali Kanna invita ad accelerare l'unificazione dell'establishment militare". Speciale Libia (in Italian). 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  30. ^ "Libya | The Ubari Military Training Center celebrates the graduation of the first batch of recruits of the Sabha Military Region". www.almusallh.ly. October 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-01.