SUMMARY
Qadhadhfa (alternatively Gaddafa, Gaddadfa) is an Arab tribe residing in Libya’s Tripolitana and Fezzan regions; the tribe is commonly associated with the coastal town Sirte, but also maintains a strong presence in the strategically important oasis town Sabha. While the Qadhadhfa is included in a group of 30-40 tribes that are regarded as relevant social and political stakeholders in Libya, it is still considered to be relatively small; no accurate figures regarding the Qadhadhfa tribe’s total size are available. The Qadhadhfa is most commonly known for being the native tribe of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the dictator who ruled Libya 1969-2011.
Like many Libyan Arab tribes, the Qadhadhfa are considered “Arabized Berbers”. The Arabization of North Africa’s Berber population began in the 11th and 12th centuries, following the arrival of various Arab tribes – such as the Banu Hilal – from the Arab Peninsula via Egypt. Historically, the Qadhadhfa inhabited the Greater Syrtis region, an area along the Gulf of Sirte that roughly corresponds with Libya’s present-day Surt district. During Ottoman rule in Libya (which lasted 1551-1911), the Qadhadhfa was among the tribes that actively resisted the Ottoman Empire’s attempts to expand and solidify its control over the Fezzan region. During the 1800s, the Qadhadhfa joined a tribal alliance (called “saff al-fauqi”, or “Upper Alliance”) together with the powerful Awlad Suleiman and Warfalla tribes to fight the Ottomans; this alliance was revived in 1923 to fight against Italian colonial forces. Following Libya’s independence from Italian colonial rule in 1947, the Qadhadhfa did not – given it relatively small size – occupy a particularly important sociopolitical position. For example, in the oasis town Sabha, the tribe found itself subordinated to its more powerful ally Awlad Suleiman.
When Muammar Gaddafi took power in Libya via a coup in 1969, this had a profound effect on the status of the Qadhadhfa. In order to solidify his control over Libya’s various political and military institutions, Gaddafi appointed members of the tribe to important positions. This also meant that the Qadhadhfa forged closer ties to the Warfalla and Maqarha tribes, which were also singled out by Gaddafi for preferential treatment. The Qadhadhfa also gained a more privileged position at the local level. For example, in order to limit the influence of the Awlad Suleiman in Sabha, Gaddafi promoted members of the Qadhadhfa to the most important positions within the town’s security institutions. However, this did not significantly damage the traditional alliance between the Qadhadhfa and the Awlad Suleiman. The 2011 uprising and subsequent demise of Gaddafi led to another dramatic shift in the Qadhadhfa’s status. The tribe remained loyal to the Gaddafi regime for the duration of the uprising, while the Awlad Suleiman decided to support the NTC rebel coalition. This eventually led to the end of the tribes’ alliance, as Awlad Suleiman fighters ransacked Qadhadhfa neighborhoods in Sabha in the fall of 2011.
In post-2011 Libya, the Qadhadhfa’s situation has been volatile and precarious, as the former rebel factions have actively excluded and harassed any group perceived as “pro-Gaddafi”. Most importantly, the tribe lost its privileged position and political power following the death of Gaddafi in October 2011. Like many other communal groups, the tribe has been affected by the almost complete collapse of the national security and military institutions following the 2011 uprising. The Qadhadhfa have been involved in local rivalries and turf wars against other tribes vying to fill emerging security vacuums. For example, hostilities between the Qadhadhfa and Awlad Suleiman erupted into communal fighting in Sabha in 2016.
