Libya’s rebels said their military commander was shot dead in an incident that remained shrouded in mystery, pointing either to divisions within the movement trying to oust Muammar Gaddafi or to an assassination by Gaddafi loyalists. The killing of Abdel Fattah Younes, who for years was in Gaddafi’s inner circle before defecting to become the military chief in the rebel Transitional National Council (TNC), set back a movement that was at last beginning to acquire cohesion as international pressure on the Gaddafi regime intensifies.
Mourners brought a coffin carrying the burned and bullet-riddled body of Younes into the main square of Benghazi, the rebels’ eastern stronghold, on Friday, his nephew told Reuters.
“We got the body yesterday here (in Benghazi), he had been shot with bullets and burned,” Younes’s nephew, Abdul Hakim, said as he followed the coffin through the square. “He had called us at 10 o’clock (on Thursday morning) to say he was on his way here.” Younes was killed in mysterious circumstances on Thursday after being recalled to Benghazi from the front line near the oil port of Brega.
“By doing that they think they will create divisions among the rebels. There certainly was treason, a sleeping cell among the rebels. Younes was on the front line and was lured to come back to Benghazi and was killed before he reached Benghazi. This is a big setback and a big loss to the rebels.” The killing coincided with the start of a rebel offensive in the west and further international recognition for their cause, which they hope to translate into access to billions of dollars in frozen funds. The rebels said Younes was shot dead by assailants after being summoned back from the battlefield.
Witnesses said the killing was greeted with jubilation by Gaddafi’s supporters in the Libyan capital Tripoli. After a day of rumours, rebel political leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said Younes and two bodyguards had been killed before he could make a requested appearance before a rebel judicial committee investigating military issues.
It was not clear where the attack took place.
