Thousands Attend Burial of Gaddafi’s Slain son
Last update: February 6, 2026
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Crowds gather in Bani Walid as supporters mourn Seif al-Islam Gaddafi amid renewed political tensions.
Thousands of people turned out on Friday for the burial of Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, the slain son of former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, in a town that has remained loyal to the late longtime leader.
Seif al-Islam, once regarded by some as Libya’s heir apparent, was shot dead in his home in the northwestern city of Zintan on Tuesday.
His burial in the town of Bani Walid, around 175 kilometres south of Tripoli, brought together thousands of Gaddafi loyalists, nearly 15 years after the former ruler was toppled and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
During the funeral, a woman accused Libya’s rival eastern and western authorities of responsibility for Seif al-Islam’s killing.
“They met in France to agree that the only obstacle standing in their way was Seif al-Islam,” she said, referring to a recent US-brokered meeting in Paris between officials from both sides.
Libya remains divided between the UN-backed government of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, based in Tripoli, and a rival eastern administration supported by Khalifa Haftar.
The North African country has struggled to recover from years of instability that followed the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.
Each year, Bani Walid marks the anniversary of the 1969 coup that brought Muammar Gaddafi to power, with residents parading through the streets carrying portraits of the former leader and waving Libya’s green flag from before the revolt.
Ahead of Friday’s burial, locals again carried those portraits and flags, chanting pro-Gaddafi slogans and declaring that “the martyrs’ blood will not be shed in vain.”
Sabri Gachout, a 66-year-old from Tripoli, said Seif al-Islam’s killing meant that “elections can now be organised without him in the electoral process”.
In 2021, Seif al-Islam announced his intention to run for president, but elections aimed at unifying the country under a UN-backed agreement were indefinitely postponed.
Marcel Ceccaldi, a French lawyer who had represented Seif al-Islam, told AFP that his client was killed by a “four-man commando”.
Authorities said they were investigating the killing, with the assailants still at large.
Saadi Gaddafi, Seif al-Islam’s younger brother, said he would be buried next to his brother Khamis Gaddafi, who was killed during the 2011 unrest.
Under his father’s 40-year rule, Seif al-Islam was widely described as a de facto prime minister, cultivating an image of moderation and reform despite holding no official post.
That image collapsed during the 2011 uprising, when he warned of “rivers of blood” in response to protests.
He was arrested later that year under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and was sentenced to death by a Tripoli court, though he was later granted amnesty.
