Mahdi al-Harati | |
---|---|
Mayor of Tripoli [1] | |
In office June 2014 – 20 August 2015 [2] | |
Preceded by | Sadat Al Badri |
Succeeded by | Abdul-Rahman Al-Ghillai (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born |
c. 1973 (age 50–51) Tripoli, Libya [3] |
Military service | |
Allegiance |
National Transitional Council (2011) Syrian National Council (2012) |
Branch/service | National Liberation Army |
Rank | Commander/Colonel |
Commands |
Tripoli Brigade
[3] Liwaa al-Umma |
Conflicts |
Libyan Civil War Syrian Civil War |
Mahdi al-Harati (born c. 1973) is an Irish-Libyan politician and former co-commander of the Tripoli Brigade during the Libyan Civil War. [3] He was also the commander of Liwaa Al-Umma, a militant group fighting against the Syrian government in the Syrian civil war. [4]
Before the Libyan civil war he was an Arabic teacher in Dublin, where he lived with his Irish-born wife and family. [5]
He was described by Volkskrant, a Dutch daily newspaper, as being a face of the Battle of Tripoli and one of the most important rebel commanders of the Libyan civil war. [6] The Sunday Times, a British newspaper, offered a first-hand account of Al-Mahdi's advance on Tripoli and his men's assault on Gaddafi's former residence, Bab Al-Azizia. [7] He was appointed second in command of the newly formed Tripoli Military Council.
On 11 October 2011, Al-Harati resigned as deputy head of the Tripoli Military Council, amid tensions over security in the capital. According to the Irish Times, while Al-Harati's associates in Tripoli assured that the resignation was for "personal reasons", a senior NTC official quoted by CNN said that the resignation was because of "differences with the National Transitional Council on the planning of the security of Tripoli". Fathi Al-Wersali, a member of the Tripoli Military Council, stated that Al-Harati would continue as commander of the Tripoli brigade. [8]
Following his involvement in the Libyan civil war al-Harati went on a fact-finding mission to Syria where, following discussions with members of the Syrian opposition, he decided to form the militant group Liwaa Al-Umma. After six months leading Liwaa Al-Umma, Al-Harati left the brigade in September 2012 [4] and handed over its command to the Free Syrian Army. [9]
In 2014, Al-Harati was elected mayor of Libya's capital city of Tripoli. [1]
On 27 February 2017, Al-Harati was the victim of a sectarian attack in which he was arrested in Malta along with two men who attacked him. [10]
Al Harati was placed on a ban list [11] [12] [13] by, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other countries for links to supporting Terrorism [14] and Al Nusra front in Syria and for Terrorism related activities with Links to Qatari sponsorship. The ban list ensued the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis which a number of nations cut ties with Qatar for its alleged "financial support of international terrorism".[ citation needed]