TRIPOLI: The slain son of former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi will be buried in a town south of the capital that remains loyal to the family, relatives said on Thursday.
Seif al Islam Gaddafi, once seen by some as Libya's heir apparent, was shot dead on Tuesday in the northwestern city of Zintan.
The burial will be held on Friday in the town of Bani Walid, some 175 kilometres south of Tripoli, two of his brothers said.
"The date and location of his burial have been decided by mutual agreement among the family," half-brother Mohamed Gaddafi said in a Facebook post.
Mohamed said the plan reflected "our respect" for the town, which has remained loyal to the elder Gaddafi years after he was toppled and killed. Each year, the town of about 100,000 celebrates the anniversary of a 1969 coup that brought Muammar to power, parading through the streets holding the ex-leader's portrait.
Saadi Gaddafi, a younger brother, said his dead sibling will be "buried among the Werfalla", an influential local tribe, in a grave next to his brother Khamis Gaddafi, who died during the 2011 unrest.
Marcel Ceccaldi, a French lawyer who had been representing Seif al Islam, said he was killed by an unidentified 'four-man commando' who stormed his house on Tuesday.
Seif al Islam had long been widely seen as his father's heir. Under the elder Gaddafi's iron-fisted 40-year rule, he was described as the de facto prime minister, cultivating an image of moderation and reform despite holding no official position.
But that reputation soon collapsed when he promised "rivers of blood" in retaliation for the 2011 uprising.
He was arrested that year on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, and a Tripoli court later sentenced him to death, although he was later granted amnesty.
In 2021, he announced he would run for president but the elections were indefinitely postponed. - AFP
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