BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan rebels say the gunmen who shot dead their military chief were militiamen allied in their struggle to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi, raising questions over divisions and lawlessness within rebel ranks.
The assassination of Abdel Fattah Younes, apparently by his own side, has hurt the opposition just as it was winning broader international recognition and launching an offensive against Gaddafi’s forces in the Western Mountains.
After 24 hours of confusion, rebel minister Ali Tarhouni said Younes had been killed by fighters who went to fetch him from the front and his bullet-riddled and partially burnt body was found at ranch near the rebel capital of Benghazi.
Tarhouni said a militia leader had been arrested and had confessed his subordinates had carried out the killing.
“It was not him. His lieutenants did it,” Tarhouni told reporters late on Friday, adding the killers were at large.
Younes had been part of Gaddafi’s inner circle since the 1969 coup that brought the Libyan colonel to power and was interior minister before defecting to the rebel side in February.
Many rebels had been uncomfortable working under a man who had been so close to Gaddafi for 41 years, and rebel sources said on Thursday Younes had been recalled over suspicions he or his family were secretly in contact with Gaddafi.
