The Magarha (also al-Magarha, Meqariha) (Arabic: المقارحة) is one of the major Arab tribes of Libya. They originate from Fezzan province of Libya and have been an influential supporters and beneficiaries of Muammar Gaddafi during his long rule and then Libya's 2011 civil war.[2][3] Some Magarha have relocated to Sirte and elsewhere along the coast.[4]
After the Warfalla tribe which is Libya's largest,[2] the Magarha are Libya's second largest tribe with an estimated 1 million members.[5]
The Magarha, along with the Warfalla, have long formed an important alliance with Muammar Gaddafi,[2] 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, is a Magarha.[6]
- ^ Ali Abdullatif Ahmida (2011). Making of Modern Libya, The: State Formation, Colonization, and Resistance, Second Edition. State University of New York Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-4384-2893-2.
- ^ a b c M. Cherif Bassiouni (2013). Libya: From Repression to Revolution. Martinus Nijhoff. p. xxxiv, xlv, 811–812. ISBN 978-90-04-25735-1.
- ^ Saskia van Genugten (2016). Libya in Western Foreign Policies, 1911–2011. Springer. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-137-48950-0.
- ^ "Factbox: Libya's key cultural, tribal divisions". Reuters. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ "Gadhafi's rule relying on wavering tribal support". Associated Press. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ "Analysis: Support for, opposition to, Gaddafi is tribal in nature". Homeland Security Newswire. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
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