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13-533: After the Warfalla tribe which is Libya's largest, the Magarha are Libya's second largest tribe with an estimated 1 million members. The Magarha, along with the Warfalla , have long formed an important alliance with Muammar Gaddafi , with many Magarha located in the upper ranks of Libya's government and security forces. Abdullah Senussi , Muammar Gaddafi 's brother-in-law and the chief of military intelligence,

26-463: A paramilitary force entrusted with securing loyalty to the Qaddafis, by force if necessary. However, this support has been inconsistent, most notably in the mounting of the 1993 Libyan coup attempt by Warfalla members of Gaddafi’s government in 1993, as a result of their rivalry with the Magarha for top positions within the government, the failure of the coup attempt to overthrow Gaddafi resulted in

39-720: A result of the Arab migrations to the Maghreb , the Berbers of Warfalla had become completely Arabized by the sixteenth century. Arab tribes have then joined the tribal confederation in a sort of tribal brotherhood ( muwakhah ), until 52 sub-tribes emerged, establishing the tribal confederation of Warfalla. During the Italian invasion of Libya in 1911, the Warfalla tribe, under the leadership of 'Abd al-Nabi Bel Khayre , fought against

52-596: A temporary decline of Warfalla influence in the Libyan power structure, as many leading members were purged and a number of Warfalla leaders and civilians were either imprisoned or executed. In the early weeks of February 2011 Libyan Civil War the Warfalla tribe leaders gave their support to the Gaddafi regime, but while the tribe has often been identified with the Gaddafi regime, there were many Warfalla who actively opposed his rule, including Mahmoud Jibril (el-Warfally),

65-512: Is a Magarha. The Magarha tribe has been semi-nomadic, and their alliances are mentioned in historical texts. The 14th century Islamic texts suggest that the Magarha were one of the tribes that controlled the oases and palm groves in the region that is contemporary west Libya. Their rights were acknowledged in the 16th to 18th century Barbary Corsairs era. The historical records of the Ottoman Empire suggest that along with Riyyah tribe,

78-660: The Tripolitanian Republic . The Warfalla, together with the Qadhafa and the Magarha , were traditionally considered the pillars of Gaddafi’s rule, dominating the security services and the ranks of the military. Gaddafi drew many of his security personnel from the Warfalla tribe, and placed certain Warfalla leaders in his " revolutionary committees " (besides members of the Maqarha and his own Qadhafa tribe),

91-798: The Magarha were Arab tribes of Wadi al-Shatti region, and that they supported the Ottoman's authority in Fezzan region. In exchange for this support, the Ottoman Empire had exempted them from taxes, allowed them to collect a tribute from passing caravans and represented the Ottoman interests as its police force. Warfalla Warfalla ( Arabic : ورفلة ) is a tribal confederation of mixed Arab and Arabized Berber origin that resides in Tripolitania , western Libya , mainly in their stronghold of Bani Walid . Warfalla historically inhabited

104-492: The Warfalla, which 'Abd al-Nabi saw as a threat to his influence. On August 20, 1920, Ramadan planned a surprise attack on the Warfalla with a force of 2,000 men. Due to the lack of water resources, Ramadan's attack failed and many of his men died of the summer heat, including Ramadan himself. This led to a civil war between the tribes and peasants of the Jabal al Gharbi District from 1920 to 1922 competing for political offices in

117-558: The area bounded by the cities of Bani Walid and Sirte , as well as the town of Sabha . The Warfalla tribe, along with the Qadhadhfa and Magarha , were the backbone of Muammar Gaddafi 's regime. The Warfalla tribe is considered a confederacy of 52 sub-tribes that consist of individual bayt s or clans. The Warfalla tribal confederation is of mixed origin. It includes Arabized Berber tribes descended from Hawwara , as well as Arab Bedouin tribes descended from Banu Hilal . As

130-645: The invaders until the fall of Bani Walid, the Warfalla tribe's territory in December 1923. The Warfalla remained neutral under Bel Khayre's leadership during the war against the Italians. It was until the Italians reached the Warfalla that they fought the Italians. In 1915, the shaykhs of Warfalla wrote a letter to the British consul in Tripoli , stating their opinion towards the Italian colonial state : We are

143-627: The notables of the district of Warfalla, still keeping our independence which was given to us by our lord the Sultan. And in case any power attacks us, we are obliged to defend our dear homeland to the last soul. Thus we urge you to inform the Italian government that we are protecting our independence and if Italy decides to attack us, we will be forced to fight her. Rival of 'Abd al-Nabi from the Misurata tribe, Ramadan, began to collect taxes from around

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156-490: The removal of Mu'ammar Qaddafi and his sons from the Libyan government. 1920 Jabal al-Gharbi civil war The 1920-22 Jabal al-Gharbi civil war was a conflict which occurred in the Nafusa Mountains and surrounding areas, in what is today the country of Libya , fought between local tribal leaders competing for political offices in the Tripolitanian Republic . This Libyan history -related article

169-457: The titular head of the opposition National Transitional Council (NTC). Akram al-Warfelli, a leading figure of the tribe, called for Gaddafi to stand down in late February 2011. “We tell the brother, he’s no longer a brother, we tell him to leave the country,” he told Al-Jazeera. On the 28-29 of May, over 100 tribal leaders, most of them Warfalla, met to call for an end to the fighting in Libya and

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