In a statement issued on Wednesday, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, condemned the killing, which reportedly took place on February 3, 2026, in Zintan City.
The African Union Commission has joined the chorus of international concern following reports of the assassination of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, condemned the killing, which reportedly took place on February 3, 2026, in Zintan City.
Youssouf described the incident as a "violent act" that threatens to derail Libya’s fragile path toward a credible and inclusive political transition.
“The Chairperson expresses his condolences to the family of the deceased... and recalls the imperative of resolving political differences through peaceful and lawful means,” the statement read, while calling on Libyan authorities to launch a thorough investigation to hold the perpetrators accountable.
The news of the 53-year-old’s death was first amplified by Moussa Ibrahim, the former official spokesperson for the late Muammar Gaddafi. Taking to his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Ibrahim alleged that Saif al-Islam was the victim of a "treacherous assassination" orchestrated by actors seeking to keep Libya in a state of perpetual chaos.
"They killed him treacherously. He wanted a united, sovereign Libya, safe for all its people," Ibrahim wrote. "The objective is more bloodshed, deeper division in Libya, and the destruction of every project for national unity, in service of foreign interests."
Ibrahim claimed to have spoken with the younger Gaddafi just two days prior to the incident, noting that Saif al-Islam was focused entirely on "a peaceful Libya and the safety of its people."
Saif al-Islam, who was once seen as the heir apparent to his father’s regime, had lived in the western city of Zintan for over a decade. He was captured there in 2011 following the uprising that toppled his father and had remained a central, if polarizing, figure in Libyan politics ever since.
Reports from Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ahmed Khalifa suggest that Gaddafi was shot and killed within the city.
The African Union has urged "restraint and calm" among all Libyan political actors, fearing that the death of such a significant figure could reignite the civil strife that has plagued the nation since 2011.
The killing marks a seismic shift in the North African country's political landscape, potentially shattering efforts at national reconciliation that Saif al-Islam’s supporters believed he represented.