Civil war in Libya: Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam killed

dpa | A prominent son of former long-term ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi was killed in Libya. Saif al-Islam was “assassinated” today in a “treasonous and cowardly” act, his political office said. Four masked men stormed his residence in the western Libyan city of Sintan and then killed al-Islam. His team mourned al-Islam, who sacrificed his “life for the hope of a stable Libya.” “Regime henchmen” in Libya are responsible.

Al-Islam’s lawyer Khalid al-Saidi confirmed to the German Press Agency that Gaddafi’s son had been “murdered”. The Al-Arabija news channel reported, citing those close to the Gaddafi family, that the 53-year-old was shot in the garden of his residence in Sintan.

There was speculation as to whether militias were close to the Government of Abdel Hamid Dbaiba in Tripoli could be behind the crime. A militia with ties to the defense ministry in Tripoli dismissed as false allegations that it was involved in the killing. Al-Islam is said to have made preparations for a return to politics, which would have posed a possible threat to Dbaiba and his allies.

One of the most influential figures in Libya

Saif al-Islam was the second eldest son of Muammar al-Gaddafi, who ruled the North African country for more than four decades, and one of the most influential figures in Libya. Before his father’s fall and death in 2011, al-Islam led a reform project aimed at politically modernizing the country and bringing it closer to the West. However, many of the efforts were soon reversed in order not to unsettle the power structure in his father’s government.

In 2011, Muammar al-Gaddafi was overthrown and ultimately killed after months of mass protests. Al-Islam had supported the brutal suppression of the protests beforehand. While attempting to escape to Niger, he was caught by a militia and was imprisoned in Sintan. According to his own statement, he spent several years there and had little contact with the outside world.

Candidacy for presidential election that never took place

Since 2014, the International Criminal Court has demanded al-Islam’s extradition to face trial for crimes against humanity during the Libyan uprising. In 2015 he was convicted by a court in Libya’s capital Tripoli sentenced to death in absentia. However, the rulers in Sintan neither had him transferred to Tripoli nor did they extradite him.

In 2021, al-Islam surprisingly reappeared after a long absence and submitted his candidacy for the planned presidential election in Libya. However, this never took place due to a conflict over the constitutional basis and the approved candidates. Libya is today effectively divided into two hostile governments in the east and west.