Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, 53, the one-time heir apparent of the late tyrant Colonel Gaddafi, has been killed in Libya, according to officials, with some reports saying he was assassinated at his home
The son of Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi has been killed in the north African country, reports claim.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, 53, the one-time heir apparent of the late tyrant Colonel Gaddafi, is said to have been killed in the town Zintan, 85 miles southwest of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, according to two Libyan security officials in western Libya. It is unclear how he died, but unconfirmed reports suggested he had been killed by armed men in his home.
His adviser, Abdallah Othman Abdurrahim, confirmed his death in a social media post, without giving details. “Saif al-Islam has fallen as a martyr,” his cousin, Hamid Kadhafi, told Libyan network al-Ahrar, adding that the family had no further details.
Abdullah Othman Abdurrahim told al-Ahrar TV channel that Seif al-Islam was killed in his house by a group of four unidentified men. “Four armed men stormed the residence of Saif al-Islam Kadhafi after disabling surveillance cameras, then executed him,” Abdurrahim was reported as saying.
Libyan news outlet Fawasel Media reported that prosecutors were investigating the killing. Born in June 1972, Seif al-Islam was the second-born son of longtime dictator Colonel Gaddadi. He earned a PhD at the London School of Economics and was seen as the reformist face of the Gaddafi regime.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was long seen as the most influential and feared figure in the country after his father, who ruled Libya from 1969 until being ousted and killed during an uprising in 2011. Born in 1972, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi played a key role in Libya’s rapprochement with the West from 2000 until the collapse of the Gaddafi regime.
At the time of the 2011 uprising, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said: “We fight here in Libya, we die here in Libya.” He warned that rivers of blood would flow and the government would fight to the last man and woman and bullet.
“All of Libya will be destroyed. We will need 40 years to reach an agreement on how to run the country, because today, everyone will want to be president, or emir, and everybody will want to run the country,” he said, wagging his finger at the camera in a TV broadcast.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was captured by fighters Zintan late in 2011 while attempting to flee to neighbouring Niger. In 2015, Saif al-Islam was sentenced to death by firing squad by a court in Tripoli for war crimes. Saif al-Islam is also wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague for war crimes. The court issued an arrest warrant against him for “murder and persecution”.
He spent years underground in Zintan to avoid assassination after he was released by the militia in 2017 under an amnesty law. From 2016, he was allowed to contact people inside and outside Libya, said Mustafa Fetouri, a Libyan analyst with contacts in Saif al-Islam’s inner circle.
Colonel Gaddafi’s last spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, also posted on social network: “They killed him treacherously. He wanted a united, sovereign Libya, safe for all its people. I spoke with him two days ago. He spoke of nothing but a peaceful Libya and the safety of its people.”
Colonel Gaddafi’s brutal regime came to an end on October 20, 2011, when he was cornered by a revolutionary mob after 40 years in charge. He was killed in a frenzied execution staged by rebels after being found hunkered down in a storm drain in Sirte, Libya.
Chilling video captured the tyrant’s final moments as he was seen covered in blood amongst a crowd of fighters who are chanting “God is great”. The dictator – who committed war crimes and viciously oppressed his people – can be heard begging for mercy in the clips, saying “what you’re doing is wrong”.
“What is the matter? What’s going on? What do you want?” the bloodied tyrant pleaded. Jeers of “you dog” and cheers of “victory” can be heard as the bewildered dictator was captured by the mob. He is reported to have been beaten and tortured by the rebels – including having a knife or bayonet inserted into his anus.
Gaddafi was then shot at close range, with some reports stating he was executed with his own custom-made gold gun. His body was placed on public display inside a freezer so the population would have proof that the vile ruler was dead.
