Rank Commander/Colonel Name Mahdi al-Harati | Role Teacher | |
 | ||
Conflicts Libyan Civil WarSyrian civil war Battles and wars Libyan Civil War, Syrian civil war Similar People Abdelhakim Belhadj, Khamis Gaddafi, Al‑Saadi Gaddafi, Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al‑Islam Gaddafi | ||
Mahdi al-Harati (born c. 1973) is an Irish-Libyan politician and former co-commander of the Tripoli Brigade during the Libyan Civil War. He was also the commander of Liwaa Al-Umma, a militant group fighting against the Syrian government in the Syrian civil war.
Before the Libyan civil war he was an Arabic teacher in Dublin, where he lived with his Irish-born wife and family.
In November 2011 a gang of Irish traveller thieves are in the middle of a holy war - after liberating €200,000 cash destined for Libyan rebels. In a tale worthy of the John le Carre thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the scam artists from Rathkeale in Co Limerick hit the jackpot when they robbed a home in Dublin's Firhouse.As well as a haul of family jewels, they stumbled upon €200,000 in €500 bills hidden in the hot press. But the homeowner was well-known Irish Libyan freedom fighter Mahdi al-Harati, who was one of the leaders of the bloody revolt against Gaddafi. He has told cops that the cash was a gift from US secret agents to aid the war effort in Libya. Now the money trail has led to the traveller strongholds in Rathkeale, where €500 notes have been popping up all over the place.
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. 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. 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.
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 and handed over its command to the Free Syrian Army.
In 2014, Al-Harati was elected mayor of Libya's capital city of Tripoli.
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.