As Libyan chaos grows, Gaddafi’s son plans return
The fugitive son and onetime heir apparent of Libya’s late Muammar Gaddafi is planning a comeback.
Seif al-Islam ‘‘decided to run in presidential elections and I see a big chance for him because all the big tribes are supporting him,’’ said Abdel Majeed al-Mansouri, who headed Libya’s economic development board before 2011 and was close to him.
‘‘People are frustrated. Even those who were against the old regime will side with him as he’s not coming back representing the old regime. He’s coming with his plan for Libya’s future.’’
Most Libya analysts disagree, dismissing Seif’s chances in a potential presidential election this year.
Yet the return of Gaddafi loyalists to the political arena six years after the Nato-backed uprising that killed him exposes the depth of public anger over insecurity and economic decay in the once-wealthy oil exporter. It will feed international concerns about the spread of Islamic State militants across North Africa and the tide of migrants clamouring to reach Europe.
‘‘It’s a sign the Gaddafists are mobilising, trying to have their say’’ for the first time since 2011, said Issandr El Amrani, North Africa project director at the International Crisis Group. ‘‘Libya’s getting more complicated. A breakthrough doesn’t seem imminent.’’
Since Gaddafi’s ouster, Libya has been carved up among dozens of militias and rival administrations in the east and in Tripoli. Infighting crippled shipments of oil, Libya’s most important source of income, for nearly two years. While shipments have resumed, the economy has been devastated.
Libyans line up for hours outside banks to obtain paltry sums. The weakening of the dinar on the black market has fuelled inflation that has impoverished wageearners and enriched speculators.
Something, Libyans say, has to give.
‘‘We’ve lost confidence in all the political figures in parliament, in the two governments, east and west,’’ said Waheed Jabu, who works at the chambers of commerce in Tripoli.
‘‘Libyans now live in poverty. The banks are empty. People are unable to buy medicine, food or anything. There are gasoline shortages, electricity failures, water disruptions and general insecurity.’’
Into this murky political landscape wades Seif. Nothing has been heard from him directly, but a man identified as the family spokesman told the Egypt Today magazine that he plans to run.
The 45-year-old, Londoneducated Seif was captured in 2011 by rebels, and the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest the same year, accusing him of crimes against humanity during the rebellion against his father. He was never extradited. In 2015, a Tripoli court sentenced him to death for crimes committed in the revolution, but in June, his captors announced he’d been freed. –