Saddam Haftar

Saddam Haftar (; born 1991) is a Libyan military officer and politician, serving as the chief of staff of the ground forces of the Libyan National Army and commander and de facto head of the Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade. He is the son of Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army and de facto leader of eastern Libya since 2017. He frequently travels abroad to make diplomatic visits to Arab and foreign countries and has been seen as the likely successor to his father.

Early life The youngest of seven children of Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar, Not much is known about Haftar's upbringings, and he has no known secondary school qualifications. He is named after the former president of Iraq Saddam Hussein. He established the 106th Brigade as a praetorian guard to protect his father and keep tribal militias under LAAF control, and with this he succeeded in recapturing Benghazi in December 2017. In December 2016, Haftar appeared at a military ceremony in Jordan during the graduation of the students of the military college, wearing a military uniform. He was granted the ranks of major and then lieutenant-colonel in an exceptional promotion granted to him by the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Aguila Saleh. Shortly thereafter, Saddam Haftar was promoted to the rank of colonel, surpassing Gaddafi himself.

Allegations of human rights violations As commander of the Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade, Haftar has been accused by international human rights organisations of overseeing and directing systematic abuses in areas controlled by the Libyan National Army. According to Amnesty International, the brigade under his leadership has committed "a catalogue of horrors," including unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances, rape and other sexual violence, and forced displacement, primarily targeting critics, perceived opponents, and displaced families in eastern and southern Libya.

Finance Haftar was injured during clashes in Tripoli in 2012 following a failed attempt to control the Aman bank.

A dual Libyan-American citizen, Saddam Haftar, along with his brother Khalid Haftar, owns a total of 17 properties in Virginia, United States — where he previously lived for years — collectively worth at least $8 million. It is unknown whom he met there, and Libya and Israel currently have no diplomatic relations.

Later that same month, Haftar allegedly guaranteed the safety of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Bashir Saleh to register themselves as presidential candidates in Sabha.

Ten days later, the Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade, led by Saddam and Khalid, stormed the courthouse in Sabha to prevent judges from hearing Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's appeal to participate in the presidential election. The gunmen used arms against the staffers and judges and then kicked them out. In January 2023, Khalifa Haftar pledged to withdraw from the Libyan presidential election on the condition that his sons Saddam and Belqasim are allowed to run. Saddam Haftar is seen as the heir apparent of Khalifa Haftar.

On 28 April 2025, Saddam, as the envoy of Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar, met in Washington D.C. with Massad Boulos, senior advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, and other senior Republican officials, focusing on advancing U.S. interests to achieve "a secure, unified, and prosperous Libya." He possibly agreed to a deal with the United States to deport immigrants from the U.S. to Libya.

Arrest warrant In August 2024, Spain issued an arrest warrant for Saddam Haftar while he was returning to Libya from Italy, alleging that he was involved in smuggling a shipment of weapons, destined for the United Arab Emirates, that was intercepted by Spanish police several months earlier. Various Western powers began pressuring Spain to nullify its arrest warrant for Saddam Haftar. Saddam Haftar was reportedly detained for questioning at an airport in Naples for an hour after his name appeared on a common EU database.