By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 23 January 2015:
The man appointed to be head of the Security Directorate in Sirte was assassinated yesterday, . . .[restrict]killed before he ever had the opportunity to fill the role.
Al-Senussi Kaibah was shot by gunmen in Dubai Street in Sirte’s town centre.
The town, Qadaffi’s reputed birthplace and seen as still being a strong constituency of Qaddafi sympathisers, is however increasingly in the hands of militant Islamists, from Ansar Al-Sharia and supporters of Daesh (or the Islamic State).
After Benghazi and Derna it is now considered the most dangerous place in the country. A month ago, 14 soldiers guarding the new power plant near the town were shot dead by suspected militants. It has also seen a significant number of Egyptian Christians working in the town seized.
Just last week the deputy mayor of Sirte, Ali Al-Aswad, survived an assassination attempt when three masked men followed and shot at him as he returned home after work.
Al-Aswad offered his resignation to his post as deputy mayor shortly after the incident, citing health and “social” reasons. [/restrict]
