Suspects arrested over killing of Libya militia leader wanted by ICC

By AFP - Mar 27,2021 - Last updated at Mar 27,2021

Libyan military police Brig. Gen. Abdel Basset Abu Gharis (left) and Benghazi chief of military prosecution Col. Ali Madi give a joint press conference at the former’s office in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi on Saturday, briefing reporters about updates regarding the assassination of Mahmoud Al Werfall (AFP photo)

BENGHAZI, Libya — Libyan authorities on Saturday announced increased security measures in second city Benghazi and the arrest of two suspects in connection with the killing of a militia leader wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Security is precarious in Benghazi with frequent tit-for-tat violence and executions.

Mahmoud Al Werfalli, a member of forces loyal to eastern military strongman Khalifa Haftar, was shot dead on Wednesday along with his cousin in the city, cradle of the country’s 2011 revolution.

Oil-rich Libya descended into chaos after the NATO-backed uprising that ousted and killed veteran dictator Muammar Qadhafi, with rival militias and administrations vying for power.

The ICC issued a first warrant for Werfalli’s arrest in August 2017, accusing him of having ordered or personally carried out seven separate rounds of executions of 33 people in 2016 and 2017.

In July 2018, the ICC issued a second arrest warrant for Werfalli for his “alleged responsibility for murder as a war crime”.

Colonel Ali Madi, the head of Benghazi’s military prosecution linked to Haftar, identified the suspects in Werfalli’s killing as Mohamad Abdeljalil Saad and Hanine Al Abdaly.

The latter is the daughter of lawyer and rights activist Hanan Al Barassi, who was gunned down in November in Benghazi in broad daylight.

Military authorities in Benghazi said Abdaly was arrested while “threatening a fellow citizen with a handgun”, according to a video footage of the alleged incident.

Possession of the handgun in itself is considered a crime, they said.

Meanwhile, the head of security in Benghazi, General Abdelbasit Bougheress, told reporters on Saturday that on “instructions” from Haftar, all shops must install surveillance cameras before Tuesday.

Cars with tinted windows will be banned in the city, as well as vehicles without licence plates, he added, among other measures.

Earlier this month, the bodies of 11 people bearing gunshots wounds were found at the southern entrance of the city, a security source said, suggesting they had been “executed”.

In October 2017, the bodies of 36 suspected militants, including 19 foreigners, were found in a vacant lot in the city bearing signs of torture.

A year earlier, the bodies of 10 young Libyans were found in a garbage dump in Benghazi.

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