Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, the once-presumed heir to Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been assassinated by a commando unit at his residence in Zintan, according to his political advisor. The 53-year-old was killed on Tuesday at approximately 2:00 pm local time (1200 GMT) in an operation that saw four unidentified assailants disable security systems before executing the attack.
His French legal representative, Marcel Ceccaldi, confirmed to AFP that Gaddafi had received security warnings in recent days from close associates about potential threats to his safety. The assassination occurs against the backdrop of Libya’s deeply fractured political landscape, where competing governments in Tripoli and the east vie for control and oil revenues.
Saif al-Islam had resided in Zintan since his 2017 pardon and release from imprisonment, following his capture during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that resulted in his father’s death. During the Gaddafi regime, he was widely regarded as the successor-in-waiting and positioned himself as a reformist figure, notably negotiating Libya’s nuclear program abandonment.
The London School of Economics-educated politician faced serious international charges, including an ICC arrest warrant issued in 2011 for alleged torture of protesters and dissidents. Though convicted in absentia in 2015 for war crimes, he was scheduled to face trial within Libya’s judicial system.
His death comes at a particularly volatile moment in Libyan politics. Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh’s internationally recognized government, which came to power in 2021 with a mandate to organize democratic elections, has struggled to maintain stability while competing with Khalifa Haftar’s eastern-based administration for control of the country’s valuable oil resources. No official government statement has yet been issued regarding the assassination.