Manny Ita
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been shot dead by armed men at his home in the northwestern town of Zintan, Libyan media and sources close to his family said on Tuesday.
The 53-year-old was killed when “four masked men” stormed his residence, according to a statement issued by his political team, which described the incident as a “cowardly and treacherous assassination.” His lawyer, Khaled al-Zaidi, also confirmed the death on Facebook but did not provide further details.
Sources said the attackers shut down the house’s CCTV cameras during the attack. Reports indicated that Saif al-Islam clashed with the assailants before he was shot dead.
His cousin, Hamid Kadhafi, said Saif al-Islam had “fallen as a martyr,” adding that the location of the compound was intended to remain secret.
Saif al-Islam was widely regarded as the most influential of Muammar Gaddafi’s sons and was long viewed as his father’s heir apparent before the Libyan leader was overthrown and killed during the October 2011 uprising.
Born in June 1972 in Tripoli, he was the second son of Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife, Safia Farkash. Fluent in English, he studied for a PhD at the London School of Economics and was often presented as the reformist face of the Gaddafi regime, undertaking diplomatic roles within his father’s inner circle.
Following the collapse of the Gaddafi government, Saif al-Islam was captured by anti-Gaddafi fighters in November 2011 and detained by a militia in Zintan for nearly six years. He was released in June 2017 after receiving amnesty from one of Libya’s rival authorities and had since been living in the town.
In 2015, a Libyan court sentenced him to death in absentia over charges related to the suppression of protests and the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 revolution. He was also wanted by the International Criminal Court on allegations of crimes against humanity connected to the uprising.
In November 2021, Saif al-Islam announced his intention to run for president, a move that provoked strong opposition from anti-Gaddafi factions across Libya. He was later disqualified by the High National Elections Committee, and the planned elections were subsequently cancelled amid disputes between rival governments and armed groups.
Libya has remained politically fragmented since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, with competing administrations, militias and regional factions vying for power, while repeated attempts at elections and national reconciliation have stalled.
