عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Libyans Demand Lebanon Release Hannibal Gaddafi

Hannibal Gaddafi. (EPA
Hannibal Gaddafi. (EPA
TT
TT

Libyans Demand Lebanon Release Hannibal Gaddafi

Hannibal Gaddafi. (EPA
Hannibal Gaddafi. (EPA

Libyan and Tunisian activists said that they have urged international and African organizations to act immediately to release Hannibal al-Gaddafi, son of late President Moammar Gaddafi, who has been detained in Lebanon for four years.

Hannibal is being held “on charges of concealing information about the disappearance of the founder of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, Imam Musa al-Sadr, during his visit to Libya in August 1978, at the invitation of his father, Moammar Gaddafi."

"The Arab League for Hannibal" said Thursday that it handed Human Rights Watch a memorandum regarding Hannibal and all prisoners and detainees of the former regime. It added that it had dispatched a delegation to Tunisia earlier this week to hand the African Union Commission, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya and human rights and humanitarian missions a memorandum regarding "the imprisonment of Hannibal Gaddafi, and the other figures symbols of the former regime who had been arrested wrongfully, oppressively and unjustly."

Russia had intervened to demand Hannibal’s release amid other intensified efforts to resolve the issue and allow him to rejoin his Lebanese wife Aline Skaff and three children who used to live with him Damascus where he was kidnapped and taken to Lebanon.

A source close to Gaddafi's family was puzzled by what he called “improvisations” of laws in Lebanon. He told Asharq al-Awsat that investigation authorities there “did not provide any evidence of Hannibal’s involvement in the Sadr case, and it became clear to them that he was a young child at the time, yet they insist on keeping him prisoner. He demanded his immediate release.

The delegation sent to Tunisia was headed by Bechir Essid, the head of the defense of Hannibal and the Libyan detainees. The League pointed out that the concerned organizations "showed great understanding of what was in the memo”.

Hannibal’s defense team stressed that "no crime under the category of concealment of information could be validated against him, given that he was less than two-years-old. It revealed that Hannibal first learned of the crime in 1997 while he was on vacation in Morocco.

Besides Hannibal, who was arrested in Lebanon, his brother Al-Saadi is still being held in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. The Gaddafi family had previously threatened to file lawsuits, locally and internationally, demanding the release of their son. It held the “concerned authorities” that are detaining him responsible for his safety, charging that he has been "tortured and denied medical treatment.”

In April 2018, a court in Tripoli acquitted Al-Saadi of the charge of killing player and coach of the Al-Ittihad football team, Bashir Al-Rayani. Despite the verdict, he remains in al-Hadba prison, despite pledges from Tripoli authorities that he will be released.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
TT
TT

Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

Türkiye held a military funeral ceremony Saturday morning for five Libyan officers, including western Libya’s military chief, who died in a plane crash earlier this week.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Ankara, Türkiye’s capital, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, UN-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s military.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli, Libya’s capital, after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

Saturday's ceremony was held at 8:00 a.m. local time at the Murted Airfield base, near Ankara, and attended by the Turkish military chief and the defense minister. The five caskets, each wrapped in a Libyan national flag, were then loaded onto a plane to be returned to their home country.

Türkiye’s military chief, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, was also on the plane headed to Libya, state-run news agency TRT reported.

The bodies recovered from the crash site were kept at the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institute for identification. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters their DNA was compared to family members who joined a 22-person delegation that arrived from Libya after the crash.

Tunc also said Germany was asked to help examine the jet's black boxes as an impartial third party.

Arab World

Syrian Foreign Ministry: Talks with SDF Have Not Yielded Tangible Results

SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
TT
TT

Syrian Foreign Ministry: Talks with SDF Have Not Yielded Tangible Results

SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)

A source from the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the talks with the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) over their integration into state institutions “have not yielded tangible results.”

Discussions about merging the northeastern institutions into the state remain “hypothetical statements without execution,” it told Syria’s state news agency SANA.

Repeated assertions over Syria’s unity are being contradicted by the reality on the ground in the northeast, where the Kurds hold sway and where administrative, security and military institutions continue to be run separately from the state, it added.

The situation “consolidates the division” instead of addressing it, it warned.

It noted that despite the SDF’s continued highlighting of its dialogue with the Syrian state, these discussions have not led to tangible results.

It seems that the SDF is using this approach to absorb the political pressure on it, said the source. The truth is that there is little actual will to move from discussion to application of the March 10 agreement.

This raises doubts over the SDF’s commitment to the deal, it stressed.

Talk about rapprochement between the state and SDF remains meaningless if the agreement is not implemented on the ground within a specific timeframe, the source remarked.

Furthermore, the continued deployment of armed formations on the ground that are not affiliated with the Syrian army are evidence that progress is not being made.

The persistence of the situation undermines Syria’s sovereignty and hampers efforts to restore stability, it warned.

Arab World

Terrorist Attack on Mosque in Syria’s Homs Draws Wide Condemnation

A view shows an interior of a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows an interior of a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Terrorist Attack on Mosque in Syria’s Homs Draws Wide Condemnation

A view shows an interior of a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows an interior of a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. (Reuters)

Condemnations poured in across the Arab world and international community of the terrorist attack that targeted a mosque in Syria’s Homs city on Friday.

An explosion killed at least eight worshippers with the extremist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claiming responsibility.

In a statement on Telegram, the group said its fighters “detonated a number of explosive devices” in the Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in the central Syrian city.

Syria's interior ministry said in a statement that “a terrorist explosion” targeted the mosque and that authorities had “begun investigating and collecting evidence to pursue the perpetrators of this criminal act.”

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack, stressing the Kingdom’s “categorical rejection of terrorism and extremism in all their forms, including attacks on mosques and places of worship and the targeting of innocent civilians.”

It expressed the Kingdom’s “solidarity with Syria in this tragic incident and its support for the Syrian government’s efforts to uphold security and stability.”

Türkiye slammed the attack, saying it stands by Syria and its efforts to support stability, security and unity “despite all the provocations.”

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the “heinous terrorist attack,” saying Baghdad rejects all forms of terrorism, violence and extremism regardless of their motives.

It slammed the attack against civilians and places of worship, saying they aim to create instability and sow strife in society.

The ministry underlined Iraq’s support for regional and international efforts aimed at eliminating terrorism and drying up its sources of funding.

The United Arab Emirates condemned the attack, saying it rejects all forms of violence and terrorism that aim to undermine security and stability.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry slammed the attack, voicing its full support to Syria in its reconstruction process “based on principles that ensure its territorial unity, sovereignty, security and stability.”

In Beirut, President Joseph Aoun slammed the Homs attack, saying Lebanon stands by Syria in its war on terrorism. He offered his condolences to the Syrian people.

Qatar slammed the attack, saying it fully stands by the Syrian government and all the measures it takes to preserve security.

France said the blast was an “act of terrorism” designed to destabilize the country, while United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the “unacceptable” attack and said the perpetrators should be brought to justice.