Mahdi al-Harati

Mahdi al-Harati (Arabic: المهدي الحاراتي, born c. 1973) is an Irish-Libyan politician and former co-commander of the Tripoli Brigade during the Libyan Civil War.^[3] He was also the commander of Liwaa Al-Umma, a militant group fighting against the Syrian government in the Syrian civil war.^[4]

Mahdi al-Harati
Mahdi Al-Harati in September 2011, after the Battle of Tripoli
Mayor of Tripoli[1]
In office June 2014 – 20 August 2015[2]
Preceded by	Sadat Al Badri
Succeeded by	Abdul-Rahman Al-Ghillai (acting)
Personal details
Born	c. 1973 (age 51–52) Tripoli, Libya[3]
Military service
Allegiance	National Transitional Council (2011) Syrian National Council (2012)
Branch/service	National Liberation Army
Rank	Commander/Colonel
Commands	Tripoli Brigade[3] Liwaa al-Umma
Conflicts	Libyan Civil War 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.^[5]

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.^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

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^[4] and handed over its command to the Free Syrian Army.^[9]

In 2014, Al-Harati was elected mayor of Libya's capital city of Tripoli.^[1]

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.^[10]

Accusations of Terrorism related Activity

Al Harati was placed on a ban list^[11][12][13] by, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other countries for links to supporting Terrorism^[14] and Al Nusra front in Syria and for Terrorism related activities with Links to Qatari sponsorship. The ban list ensued the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis which a number of nations cut ties with Qatar for its alleged "financial support of international terrorism".^{[citation needed]}