Libyan commander wanted for war crimes by ICC shot dead
Unidentified armed men have shot dead a Libyan commander, loyal to renegade General Khalifa Haftar, who was wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in the country’s eastern city of Benghazi.
According to reports, Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf al-Werfalli, a senior figure in Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), was killed in a busy street in Benghazi on Wednesday after gunmen opened fire on his car, local sources said on condition of anonymity.
The sources said Werfalli and his cousin, Ayman, were seriously wounded, before being pronounced dead on arrival at Benghazi Medical Center, located near the scene of the shooting.
Werfalli’s brother was also wounded in the attack, they added.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the assault.
Following the attack, there was a heightened presence of security forces in Benghazi, with residents across the city saying they heard gun shots.
Born in 1978, Werfalli was a commander in an elite unit attached to Haftar’s LNA, a coalition of forces that has dominated eastern Libya in recent years.
Werfalli was indicted twice by the ICC for his alleged role in executing or ordering the execution of 33 people who were either civilians or injured fighters in at least seven incidents in 2016 and 2017. The Hague-based tribunal says the executions were filmed and posted on social media.
SS
