Thousands of people gathered on Friday in Bani Walid, a town still loyal to the late Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, to attend the burial of his slain son, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi.
Seif al-Islam, once considered Libya’s heir apparent, was shot dead at his home in Zintan on Tuesday. His burial, nearly 15 years after his father’s ouster and death in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, drew large crowds of supporters who carried portraits of the former leader and Libya’s pre-Arab Spring green flag. Locals chanted pro-Gaddafi slogans, vowing that “the martyrs’ blood will not be shed in vain.”
The town of Bani Walid, located about 175 kilometres south of Tripoli, has long celebrated the anniversary of the 1969 coup that brought Muammar Gaddafi to power, reflecting its enduring allegiance to the Gaddafi family. Seif al-Islam’s younger brother, Saadi Gaddafi, said he would be buried next to his brother Khamis, who died during the 2011 unrest.
Seif al-Islam had held significant influence under his father’s 40-year rule, often described as the de facto prime minister. Initially seen as a moderate reformer, he later threatened “rivers of blood” in response to the 2011 uprising. Arrested that year on an International Criminal Court warrant for alleged crimes against humanity, he was sentenced to death by a Tripoli court but later granted amnesty.
A French lawyer who had represented Seif al-Islam, Marcel Ceccaldi, said the killing was carried out by a “four-man commando,” though the assailants remain at large. Libyan authorities have launched an investigation into his death.
Libya remains divided between the UN-backed government of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah in Tripoli and an eastern administration led by Khalifa Haftar. Dbeibah condemned the killing, saying assassinations “never provide stability… but rather deepen division,” while his interior ministry pledged to secure the funeral.
Seif al-Islam had announced a presidential bid in 2021, but the elections were indefinitely postponed amid the country’s ongoing political turmoil.
