Murdered son of Muammar Gaddafi was perceived as a threat to Libya's elite

"The assassination of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the second son of Libya's late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, is a reminder of both how violent Libya remains more than 15 years after his father's demise and how much Saif had come to be perceived as a threat to Libya's governing elite. The loyalist Gaddafi green movement remained a potent gathering point for some Libyans nostalgic for a return to imagined past security that Saif's father symbolised."

"Gaddafi, 53, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen who stormed his house in Zintan on Tuesday. His political office quickly demanded an impartial inquiry into his death, casting doubt on the ability of the UN-backed government based in Tripoli to mount such an investigation. The Tripoli-based prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, holds on to power even though a UN-led process in 2021 had only intended to install him as an interim leader pending new elections that never happened."

"One Libyan said: There is a large constituency inside Libya that has come to support what he symbolises, and if there were elections it was likely that he would do better than Dbeibeh and Haftar, especially since there is a nostalgia for the past that is remembered as more secure. Since there have been no national elections in Libya since 2015 there is a large group of voters that have no personal experience of Gaddafi's father or what he did."

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was assassinated after unidentified gunmen stormed his house in Zintan, highlighting persistent violence in Libya more than 15 years after his father's fall. His loyalist Gaddafi green movement attracted Libyans nostalgic for alleged past security, making him a perceived threat to the governing elite. His political office demanded an impartial inquiry, raising doubts about the UN-backed Tripoli government's capacity to investigate. The Tripoli-based prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, remains in power despite a 2021 UN-led process that intended him as an interim leader pending elections that never occurred. Libya remains divided between an authoritarian east led by Khalifa Haftar's family and a UN-recognised west. Rival camps reportedly met in Paris to discuss a common approach to elections.

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