TRIPOLI/ZINTAN — Libya’s public prosecutor has opened an investigation into the killing of Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, saying forensic teams were dispatched to Zintan in the country’s northwest and that witnesses are being sought. Officials said he died from gunshot wounds.
Seif al-Islam’s French lawyer, Marcel Ceccaldi, told AFP that an unidentified “four-man commando” stormed his home on Tuesday and killed him. Libyan authorities have not publicly named suspects, but said investigative steps are underway, including interviews with anyone who may shed light on the attack.
His death removes one of Libya’s most recognizable political symbols from an already fragmented landscape. On the streets of Tripoli, reactions were mixed: some analysts and former officials said the killing could narrow the field in Libya’s long-running power struggle, while others argued Seif al-Islam had limited practical influence in current governance structures.
Long seen by supporters as a potential heir to Muammar Gaddafi, Seif al-Islam had attempted a political return after years in detention and obscurity. He sought to run in the 2021 presidential process, though that vote was indefinitely postponed amid legal and political disputes.
No official funeral timetable has been released. Libyan media, citing advisers close to Seif al-Islam, reported that an autopsy had been completed and that burial could take place in Bani Walid, south of Tripoli.
The assassination underscores how unresolved rivalries, weak national institutions, and armed factional politics continue to shape Libya more than a decade after the 2011 uprising. Investigators now face pressure to establish motive and accountability quickly to prevent new instability
