Libyan militia leader wanted for war crimes shot dead

Libyan militia leader Mahmoud Al Werfalli, wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, was shot dead in the eastern city of Benghazi on Wednesday, security sources said.

Werfalli, a member of forces loyal to eastern military strongman Khalifa Haftar, was “shot dead with his cousin, Ayman, when unidentified gunmen opened fire on his car,” said one source who requested anonymity.

The pair were seriously wounded, before being pronounced dead on arrival at Benghazi Medical Centre, located near the scene of the shooting, another security source said.

The ICC issued the first warrant for Werfalli’s arrest in August 2017, accusing him of having ordered or personally carried out seven separate rounds of executions of 33 people in 2016 and 2017.

In July 2018, the ICC issued a second arrest warrant for Werfalli for his “alleged responsibility for murder as a war crime”.

The court said he “allegedly shot dead 10 persons in front of the Bi’at al-Radwan Mosque” in Benghazi on January 24 that year.

Born in 1978, Werfalli was a commander of the Al Saiqa Brigade, an elite unit that defected from Libya’s military during the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Moamer Gadhafi.