Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has been killed in the town of Zintan, 85 miles south-west of Tripoli, according to officials. The 53-year-old died from gunshot wounds, the Libyan attorney general's office confirmed on Tuesday night. His own office stated he was killed in his home by masked assailants.
Once seen as a pro-western reformer who studied at the London School of Economics, Gaddafi quickly backed his father’s violent crackdown on protests in 2011. The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest for crimes against humanity, and a Tripoli court convicted him in 2015. His death has raised concerns that it could inflame pro-Gaddafi factions in the country.
The Libyan chief prosecutor’s office said it was searching for suspects and had sent forensic experts to the scene. Gaddafi’s office described the killing as a “cowardly and treacherous assassination”, reporting that four masked men stormed his house, disabled cameras, and clashed with him before shooting him. His sister, however, claimed he died near the Algerian border.
Khaled al-Mishri, former head of the Tripoli-based High State Council, called for an “urgent and transparent investigation”. Gaddafi had been a key symbolic figure in Libyan politics after the 2011 revolution, despite lacking a formal role. He was captured in 2011 while trying to flee to Niger, imprisoned for six years, and freed in 2017. He announced his candidacy for the 2021 presidential election but was disqualified due to his war crimes conviction.
