The African Union Commission (AU), has learned with deep concern of the reports regarding the killing of the Libyan political figure, Saïf al-Islam Gaddafi, on 3 February 2026 in Zintan City.
AU Chairperson, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf in a statement released on Wednesday strongly condemned this violent act, adding that this risks further undermining efforts toward credible and inclusive political transition in Libya.
The Chairperson expressed condolences to the family of the deceased, as well as to all those affected by this incident, while recalled the imperative of resolving political differences through peaceful and lawful means.
Youssouf called upon Libyan authorities to uphold the rule of law and to ensure that the circumstances surrounding this killing are thoroughly investigated, and those responsible are held accountable in accordance with the law.
The Chairperson further urged restraint and calm among all Libyan political actors and reiterated the African Union’s continued commitment to supporting the Libyan people.
He added, “And institutions in their efforts to achieve a durable, consensual, and peaceful resolution to the political and security crisis that has affected the country since 2011”.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the most prominent son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been killed in Libya, according to officials and local media.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s lawyer, Khaled al-Zaidi, and his political adviser, Abdulla Othman, announced the 53-year-old’s death in separate posts on Facebook on Tuesday, without providing details.
Libyan news outlet Fawasel Media cited Othman as saying that armed men killed Gaddafi in his home in the town of Zintan, some 136km (85 miles) southwest of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
Gaddafi’s political team later released a statement, saying that “four masked men” stormed his house and killed him in a “cowardly and treacherous assassination”.
The statement said that he clashed with the assailants, who closed the security cameras at the house “in a desperate attempt to conceal traces of their heinous crimes”.
Khaled al-Mishri, the former head of the Tripoli-based High State Council, an internationally recognised government body, called for an “urgent, transparent investigation” into the killing in a social media post.
Gaddafi never had an official position in Libya, but was considered to be his father’s number two from 2000 until 2011, when Muammar Gaddafi was killed by Libyan opposition forces, ending his decades-long rule.
Saif al-Islam was captured and imprisoned in Zintan in 2011 after attempting to flee the North African country following opposition’s takeover of Tripoli. He was released in 2017 as part of a general pardon and had lived in Zintan since.
