24 – 31 March: Saiqa commander Werfalli killed

Apr 1, 2021 | Libyan actors

This week two significant commanders were assassinated in Benghazi and Tripoli.

On 24 March, a notorious commander in the LNA’s Saiqa Battalion, Mahmoud Werfalli, was gunned down in broad daylight in Benghazi. According to a Saiqa spokesperson, Miloud al-Zuwai, the killing occurred in front of Benghazi’s Medical College. Werfalli’s cousin and close associate, Ayman, was also killed. In August 2017, the International Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant against Werfalli for alleged war crimes, and the US and EU later issued sanctions against him.

On 29 March, it was reported that Mohammed Salem, also known as ‘Damouna’, a prominent Misratan commander in the al-Samoud Brigade, was killed in an ambush in Karimiyya, south of Tripoli. Two bodyguards were seriously injured in the attack. Following the killing, sources from the al-Samoud Brigade blamed the assassination on the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) led by Abdul Ghani al-Kikli, also known as ‘Ghinaywa’, and the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade (TRB) associated with Haithem Tajouri.