Seif al-Islam al-Qaddafi, the son of the former Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, has reportedly been killed by a group of masked assailants, according to his team.
The incident took place in Zintan, a town located southwest of Tripoli. He was 53 years old. Reports indicate he was shot dead, but further details remain sparse. His lawyer, Khaled al-Zaidi, confirmed his death via a post on Facebook.
His team characterized the act as a “despicable and dangerous assassination,” stating that the attackers disabled the home’s surveillance cameras in an apparent attempt to conceal their crime, as noted by the Associated Press.
Seif al-Islam, born in 1972, was the second son of Muammar al-Qaddafi. He pursued studies at the London School of Economics and was working toward a Ph.D.
Despite lacking an official position, many viewed him as a key figure representing Libya to the West. He was involved in Libya’s decision to abandon its weapons of mass destruction and negotiated reparations for victims related to the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 tragedy. As reported by Reuters, his influence was noteworthy.
Muammar al-Qaddafi ruled Libya for over four decades before being overthrown and killed during a NATO-supported uprising in 2011. This uprising sparked a civil war that fragmented the country into factions and armed groups. Seif al-Islam was captured attempting to escape to Niger later that year, only to be released in 2017 after receiving amnesty from one of Libya’s rival governments.
In 2021, he declared his intention to run for president in Libya’s elections. However, he was disqualified by the High National Electoral Commission.
