Libyan militia leader rebuffs call for rebel army

Benghazi, Libya (AFP)
Aug 7, 2011

A top Libyan rebel commander has bluntly rejected demands that his volunteer militias disband and fall into a new national army, despite fears that lack of a unified command is leading to chaos.

Fawzi Bukatif, who commands a large group of volunteer fighting brigades, said forging a unified and uniformed rebel army under the control of professional soldiers was "premature."

"You can't do it. We are in a fight. We are in a revolution," he said emphatically during a lengthy interview with AFP.

Since the early days of the Libyan uprising -- almost six months ago -- rebel fighters have been split between two main camps.

The officer class and special forces are largely comprised of professional soldiers who defected from Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's military, while dozens of loosely connected volunteer brigades, or "katibas," comprise the bulk of the fighting force.

Critics say this dual structure could result in a shadow army that remains outside political control.

Months of increasing calls for the militias to integrate have come to a crescendo following last month's assassination of army general Abdel Fatah Yunis.

His murder, after being taken into custody by rebel fighters, has raised serious questions about lawlessness and the long-term impact of having thousands of armed men roaming the country at will.

Powerful tribal and political groups that were present at the genesis of the revolution are now demanding the formation of a national army.

The February 17 Coalition -- a group that formed the backbone of the uprising -- last week called "for all the armed groups to fall under the National Army or lay down their arms."

But volunteer fighters and their commanders are resisting the move. Mistrust is rife.

Many suspect the motives of defected officers -- such as Yunis -- who had been an integral part of the Kadhafi regime.

To others it looks like a simple power grab. Many resent taking orders from people who they accuse of watching the war from an office in Benghazi while they toil amid the danger and discomfort of the desert.

Bukatif, an affable former oil engineer who is now the spokesman for the Union of Revolutionary Forces and head of the February 17 brigade, is not shy about voicing his unease.

"They are not even 20 percent of the numbers that we have. Where is the army that you are speaking about?

"We actually have no army, we have no organization from the army. Whatever is left from Kadhafi is something that is very poor," he said.

"Even Mr Yunis, when he was there, he did not control anything. Where is the army that he controls? We are speaking about something that is not tangible."

Practicalities as well as politics appear to be preventing the formation of a single fighting force.

The volunteer fighters are just that: volunteers. They appear to be free to come and go as they please, and are not always interested in taking orders after decades spent living in a dictatorship.

"It is a delicate operation we are dealing with," Bukatif said. "You don't order people to go, or come back."

Officers are also sensitive about rocking the boat, introducing hierarchy and discipline that could prompt desertions and gut the rebel fighting force.

For now it appears that Libya's disparate fighting groups will continue to fight their war ad-hoc.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Libyan_militia_leader_rebuffs_call_for_rebel_army_999.html.