Suleiman Mahmoud
Suleiman Mahmoud al-Obeidi is a senior military officer in Libya. He was formerly a commander in Muammar Gaddafi's army. He was commander of the Tobruk Military Region. He was amongst the first of the army hierarchy to defect to the opposition during the Libyan Civil War. Around half of the estimated 6,000 troops who have joined the rebels took their orders from General Mahmoud prior to the 28 July 2011 assassination of General Abdul Fatah Younis, the top commander of the National Liberation Army. The Associated Press reported the next day that Mahmoud succeeded Younis as army commander.
Mahmoud moved his headquarters to Tripoli after the success of Operation Mermaid Dawn. As of early September 2011, he reportedly maintains a separate force from Abdelhakim Belhadj, the head of the Tripoli Military Council, though the two men are ostensibly working to integrate the anti-Gaddafi forces in western Libya into a cohesive military under the aegis of the National Transitional Council.
