Libyan authorities launch a probe after Seif al-Islam Gaddafi is shot dead in Zintan, urging calm amid fears the killing could destabilise fragile national reconciliation efforts.
TRIPOLI: Libyan prosecutors have opened an investigation into the killing of Seif al-Islam Gaddafi (pic), son of the late ruler Muammar Gaddafi. The public prosecutor’s office said forensic experts were dispatched to Zintan in northwest Libya, where he was shot dead.
“The victim died from wounds by gunfire,” the office stated. Investigators are working to identify suspects and speak to witnesses who can shed light on the incident.
His lawyer, Marcel Ceccaldi, told AFP he was killed by an unidentified “four-man commando” who stormed his house. The head of Libya’s Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Menfi, urged political forces and the media to show restraint and avoid incitement.
“We call on all political forces to wait for the results of the official investigation,” Menfi said. He warned that escalation could undermine national reconciliation and the holding of free elections.
Menfi referred to Seif al-Islam as a “presidential candidate”. The 53-year-old, once seen as his father’s successor, had announced a presidential run in 2021 before elections were postponed.
Libya remains split between a UN-backed government in Tripoli and an eastern administration. The country has struggled with chaos since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.
Seif al-Islam was arrested in 2011 on an ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity. A Tripoli court sentenced him to death in 2015, but he was later granted amnesty.
No details on his burial have been released, but an adviser said an autopsy was completed. He may be buried in Bani Walid, south of Tripoli.
Moussa al-Kouni, vice-president of the Presidential Council, wrote on social media platform X condemning the violence. “No to political assassinations, no to achieving demands by force,” he stated.
