Mystery shrouds death of Libya rebel commander
Source: Agencies |
July 30, 2011, Saturday
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THE shooting death of Libya's rebel military commander remained shrouded in mystery yesterday and has dealt a blow to Western-backed forces laboring in a campaign to topple Moammar Gaddafi.
Rebels said Abdel Fattah Younes, long in the veteran Libyan leader's inner circle before defecting in February, was shot by assailants on Thursday after he had been summoned from the battlefield for unspecified talks.
Some analysts thought Gaddafi agents may have killed him, others that his own side had done so, revealing deep divisions between Gaddafi defectors and those who never worked with him. Neither side in the conflict clarified the matter.
Thousands of mourners followed the funeral procession for Younes yesterday, with many chanting "Martyrs are God's Beloved" as they carried his coffin to a cemetery in the de-facto eastern rebel capital Benghazi.
Fear and confusion gripped Benghazi, where heavy gunfire crackled in the early hours yesterday, as residents worried that Younes' death could undermine the rebels' military forces, leaving the opposition-held east vulnerable to attack by Gadhafi's forces.
The circumstances of his death remained almost entirely unexplained. The head of the rebel National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, said Younes had been summoned to Benghazi for questioning on a "military matter" and was killed along with two aides while on route.
He blamed "gunmen" and said one man had been arrested, but Abdul-Jalil did not say what he believed motivated the killers.
Hours before the commander's death was announced, rebel military spokesman Mohammed al-Rijali had said Younes had been taken to Benghazi for "interrogation."
Younes was Gadhafi's interior minister before defecting to the rebels early in the uprising, which began in February. His abandoning of the Libyan leader raised Western hopes that the growing opposition could succeed in forcing out the country's ruler of more than four decades.
Trouble among the rebels – whose forces have failed to make battlefield gains despite nearly four months of NATO airstrikes against Gahdafi's forces–could shake the confidence of the United States, Britain and many other nations that have recognized the rebel council as Libya's legitimate leaders.
Rebels said Abdel Fattah Younes, long in the veteran Libyan leader's inner circle before defecting in February, was shot by assailants on Thursday after he had been summoned from the battlefield for unspecified talks.
Some analysts thought Gaddafi agents may have killed him, others that his own side had done so, revealing deep divisions between Gaddafi defectors and those who never worked with him. Neither side in the conflict clarified the matter.
Thousands of mourners followed the funeral procession for Younes yesterday, with many chanting "Martyrs are God's Beloved" as they carried his coffin to a cemetery in the de-facto eastern rebel capital Benghazi.
Fear and confusion gripped Benghazi, where heavy gunfire crackled in the early hours yesterday, as residents worried that Younes' death could undermine the rebels' military forces, leaving the opposition-held east vulnerable to attack by Gadhafi's forces.
The circumstances of his death remained almost entirely unexplained. The head of the rebel National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, said Younes had been summoned to Benghazi for questioning on a "military matter" and was killed along with two aides while on route.
He blamed "gunmen" and said one man had been arrested, but Abdul-Jalil did not say what he believed motivated the killers.
Hours before the commander's death was announced, rebel military spokesman Mohammed al-Rijali had said Younes had been taken to Benghazi for "interrogation."
Younes was Gadhafi's interior minister before defecting to the rebels early in the uprising, which began in February. His abandoning of the Libyan leader raised Western hopes that the growing opposition could succeed in forcing out the country's ruler of more than four decades.
Trouble among the rebels – whose forces have failed to make battlefield gains despite nearly four months of NATO airstrikes against Gahdafi's forces–could shake the confidence of the United States, Britain and many other nations that have recognized the rebel council as Libya's legitimate leaders.
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