Saddam Haftar

Saddam Haftar was born in Benghazi, Libya in 1991, the youngest of seven children of Libyan politician Khalifa Haftar.[5][6] His mother raised Haftar and his brothers in Benghazi while his father lived in exile in the United States during the rule of Muammar Gaddafi.[6] Not much is known about Haftar's upbringing, and he has no known secondary school qualifications.[5][7] He is named after the former president of Iraq Saddam Hussein.[8][9][6]

He has been commander of the Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade since its emergence in 2016, which has been accused of crushing any opposition to his father's Libyan Arab Armed Forces[1] and of terrorizing people by committing "unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, rape and other sexual violence, and forced displacement — with no fear of consequences".[10] He established the 106th Brigade as a praetorian guard to protect his father and keep tribal militias under LAAF control,[11] and with this he succeeded in recapturing Benghazi in December 2017.[2] In December 2016, Saddam Haftar appeared at a military ceremony in Jordan during the graduation of the students of the Military College, wearing a military uniform. He was granted the ranks of Major and then Lieutenant-Colonel in an exceptional promotion granted to him by the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Aguila Saleh. Shortly thereafter, Saddam Haftar was promoted to the rank of Colonel, surpassing Gaddafi himself.[2] In December 2022, Saddam's Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade was accused by the Amnesty International of committing war crimes.[1][12][13] By May 2023 he held the rank of Brigadier General.[14]

Saddam Haftar was injured during clashes in Tripoli in 2012 following a failed attempt to control the "Aman" bank.[2] Immediately after he recaptured Benghazi in December 2017, Saddam ordered his men to transfer about 160 million Euros, 639 million Libyan dinars, two million US dollars and 6,000 silver coins from the Central Bank branch in Benghazi to an unknown destination,[2] which has been described as "one of the largest bank heists in history".[11] In December 2022, Saddam Haftar attempted to seize control of banking institutions in Cyrenaica.[15][16] Saddam's strong control over eastern Libya's banking sector would allow him to finance his forces, equipment and operations.[15]

On 1 November 2021, Saddam Haftar reportedly visited Tel Aviv for a secret meeting with Israeli officials, allegedly seeking to establish diplomatic relations in return for Israeli "military and diplomatic assistance".[17] It is unknown whom he met there, and Libya and Israel currently have no diplomatic relations.[18][19] Later that same month, Saddam Haftar allegedly guaranteed the safety of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Bashir Saleh to register themselves as president candidates in Sabha.[20] Ten days later, the Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade, led by Saddam and Khalid, stormed the courthouse in Sabha to prevent judges from hearing Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's appeal to participate in the presidential election. The gunmen used arms against the staffers and judges and then kicked them out.[21] In January 2023, Khalifa Haftar pledged to withdraw from the Libyan presidential election on the condition that his sons Saddam and Belqasim are allowed to run.[22] Saddam Haftar is seen as the heir apparent of Khalifa Haftar.[4]