Ex-Libyan President Gaddafi’s Son, Saif al-Islam, Shot Dead

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libya’s President Muammar Gaddafi, has been killed after gunmen attacked his residence in western Libya.

His adviser, Abdullah Othman Abdurrahim, told Al-Ahrar Television that four unidentified armed men carried out the attack. “Four armed men stormed the residence of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi after disabling surveillance cameras, then executed him,” Abdurrahim said.

The killing was also confirmed by Saif al-Islam’s lawyer, Marcel Ceccaldi who told AFP that it was not yet clear who was responsible, adding “For now, we don’t know,” while noting that he had been informed by one of Saif al-Islam’s close associates about 10 days earlier “that there were problems with his security”.

Saif al-Islam, 53, was living in Zintan at the time of the attack, although his movements had long remained unclear.

Once widely viewed as his father’s political heir, Saif al-Islam announced in 2021 that he would contest Libya’s presidential election, which was later postponed indefinitely. During Muammar Gaddafi’s rule, he held no formal government position but was often described as the country’s de facto prime minister and promoted a reformist image before the 2011 Arab Spring uprising. That reputation later collapsed after he threatened “rivers of blood” against protesters.

Saif al-Islam was captured in southern Libya in November 2011 following the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court against him. A court in Tripoli later sentenced him to death in 2015 after a swift trial, though he was subsequently released under an amnesty.

Muammar Gaddafi’s last spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, also reacted on social media, writing “They killed him treacherously. He wanted a united, sovereign Libya, safe for all its people.” He added “I spoke with him two days ago. He spoke of nothing but a peaceful Libya and the safety of its people.”

Libya has remained mired in instability since the NATO-backed uprising in 2011 that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi. The country is still divided between a UN-backed government based in Tripoli and a rival eastern administration supported by forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar.