The son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al Islam Gaddafi, 53, has been killed, sources close to the family, his lawyer Khaled el-Zaydi and Libyan media said.
His death was also confirmed by his adviser Abdullah Osman said late on Tuesday.
Libyan media reported that the killing took place at his residence and was carried out by four unidentified individuals, adding that surveillance cameras at the site were disabled before the attack.The Libyan Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into the killing, according to local media.
Details surrounding Saif al Islam’s killing remain unclear, and Libyan authorities have yet to issue an official confirmation.Via his Facebook page, Moussa Ibrahim, a former spokesman for the Gaddafi era, wrote: "They killed him treacherously while he wanted a unified, sovereign Libya, safe for all its people...They assassinated hope and a future, and planted hatred and animosity."Regarding his assassination, Ibrahim said: "The goal is more bloodshed, Libya's division and the destruction of every project for national unity, serving the interests of foreigners in the country."The Libyan News Agency quoted the "444th Brigade" affiliated with the Defense Ministry of the Government of National Unity as "categorically” denying what is being circulated on social media platforms regarding its connection to the clashes that occurred in the city of Zintan and the accompanying news about the killing of Saif al Islam.Since his capture during the armed revolution that toppled his father in 2011, Saif al Islam has lived in the city of Zintan, located 136 kilometers (85 miles) southwest of the capital Tripoli, but no one publicly knew his location even after his release in 2017.
While Saif al Islam is well-known in the north African country, especially for his role in shaping policy before 2011, his public profile has receded in recent years.
In 2015, a Libyan court passed a death sentence in absentia on Saif al Islam for suppressing peaceful protests during the country's 2011 revolution that ended his father's rule.
In 2021, Saif al Islam registered as a presidential candidate for a December vote that eventually collapsed amid a political deadlock.
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Source: TRT