Benghazi Defense Brigades was formed in June 2016 to defend Benghazi and the Shura Council from the Libyan National Army, the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) included various Libya Dawn militias and was organized under the banner of the former Grand mufti Saddiq Al-Ghariyani.[171][172] Even thought it pledged to support the GNA[172] and apparently working under Mahdi Al-Barghathi, the Defence Minister of the GNA.[173] The GNA never recognized the BDB with some members calling for it to be demarcated as a "terrorist organization".[174]