Tripoli, 19 September:
The head of Sebha’s military council survived an assassination attempt on Monday. However, his wife was killed in the . . .[restrict]attack.
Colonel Ali Dallah Gaidi was travelling on his way to a friend’s wedding in the nearby town of Obari when assailants pulled alongside his vehicle and opened fire.
The men, who were reported to have been driving a white Hyundai with no number plates, fired four shots, hitting Gaidi’s wife but missing him and his son, who was also travelling in the vehicle.
Gaidi was passing through the Mehdia area of the town at the time.
The motivation of the assailants remains unknown, but there has been speculation the attack could have been linked to the colonel’s association with the former regime.
However, far from accusing anti-Qaddafi elements, sources have suggested the attackers could have been pro-Qaddafi sympathisers angry at Gaidi’s association with the post-revolutionary government.
The incident follows another assassination attempt against a former revolutionary, Khaled Mohammed Musbah, which also took place in the Mehdia area.
It is reported that an armed group stormed Musbah’s house in an attempt to kill him, but that the revolutionary succeeded instead in wounding one of his attackers before fleeing the scene.
A source, who requested to remain anonymous, said that the SSC succeeded in making several arrests in connection with this latter case, and that the accused men had been transferred to Tripoli.
Meanwhile yesterday, Tuesday, a local man accused of involvement in a recent murder case was killed by another group of men, whose identities are unknown.
The authorities have said they are launching an extensive search to find the killers of the man, who has been named locally as Aqilla Mahmoud. [/restrict]
