The killing of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the most prominent surviving son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, removes a figure who commanded symbolic influence among some Libyans, even as he was reviled by others as the representative of a hated regime.The 53-year-old, killed on Tuesday in the western Libyan town of Zintan, was an alternative to the country’s current power duopoly, split between the United Nations-recognised government in the capital, Tripoli, and the so-called Libyan National Army in the east of the country.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe killing occurred less than a week after a reported January 28 meeting at Paris’s Elysee Palace brought together Saddam Haftar, son of eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar, and advisers to Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.Then, on Sunday, a meeting brokered by the United States in Paris brought together senior officials from the two rival Libyan administrations to discuss efforts towards national unity.However, the manner of Gaddafi’s death – his political team said that four masked men had stormed his house and shot him – has once again highlighted the insecurity Libya still faces, and the murky nature of the country’s political divides.Saif al-Islam as heir to GaddafiSaif al-Islam Gaddafi had some influence in Libya despite having no notable military force under his command, and no control over territory, unlike his rivals.He was once seen as his father’s Western-friendly, reform-minded heir before he dropped that image dramatically during the 2011 revolution to help lead a brutal crackdown on protesters. In a televised speech at the time, he denounced the protesters and endorsed …
