USA Africa Dialogue Series - Good Riddance --- Let Them Eliminate One Another

28 July 2011 Last updated at 18:58 ET

Libyan rebel commander Abdel Fattah Younes killed

 

Abdel Fattah Younes defected in February

The military commander of the Libyan rebels fighting to topple Col Muammar Gaddafi has been killed, the rebel National Transitional Council says.

NTC head Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said Gen Abdel Fattah Younes was killed by assailants, and the head of the group responsible had been arrested.

He said Gen Younes was summoned for questioning about military operations, but never made it to the meeting.

Reports said Gen Younes was suspected of ties to pro-Gaddafi forces.

Two aides to Gen Younes, Col Muhammad Khamis and Nasir al-Madhkur, were also killed in the attack, Mr Jalil said, adding that there would be three days of mourning in their honour.

The exact circumstances of the killings were unclear, and Mr Jalil did not say directly that the assailants were allied with Col Gaddafi.

Gen Younes is a former Libyan interior minister who defected to the rebel side in February. He was also part of the group that helped bring Col Gaddafi to power in 1969.

Some unconfirmed reports said Gen Younes and two aides had been arrested earlier on Thursday near Libya's eastern front.

Shortly after the announcement of Gen Younes' death, gunmen entered the grounds of the hotel in the eastern city of Benghazi where Mr Jalil was speaking, reportedly firing into the air before being convinced to leave.

Meanwhile, the South African ambassador to the UN, Baso Sangqu, warned that supporters of the rebels were in danger of violating UN sanctions.

His comments came a day after Britain granted the rebels diplomatic recognition and said it would unblock £91 million ($149m) in frozen Libyan oil assets for the rebels.

"We have noted the calls for Gaddafi must go," Mr Sangqu said. "We maintain that such statements do not bring us any closer to a political solution."

The BBC's Barbara Plett reports from the UN that the growing trend to grant diplomatic recognition to the Libyan rebels is facing opposition on the Security Council, and that moves to back the rebels will further polarise Council members.