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Top Libyan Rebel Commander Has Been Killed

Al Jazeera reports that Abdel Fatah Younes, the top rebel military commander, has been killed: Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the chief of the NTC, blamed Younes’s killing on gunmen loyal to Gaddafi in a press conference late on Thursday night. He said Younes had been summoned from the front line to appear before a “panel of […]

Al Jazeera reports that Abdel Fatah Younes, the top rebel military commander, has been killed:

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the chief of the NTC, blamed Younes’s killing on gunmen loyal to Gaddafi in a press conference late on Thursday night. He said Younes had been summoned from the front line to appear before a “panel of judges” and was killed on his way there. One of his killers was arrested, Jalil said, but Younes’s body has not been recovered.

Sources close to the NTC told Al Jazeera that Younes was suspected of engaging in unauthorised communication with Gaddafi’s representatives and had possibly even helped supply regime troops with weapons – a dire offence against the rebel cause, but one that could not be immediately proved.

His death, while possibly under investigation, throws open a power vacuum in the rebel hierarchy. Many Libyans fear such void will spawn more violence as others move to fill his role as military commander, while his allies seek retribution.

While there is speculation that Younes’ death might have actually been the result of discord among rebel officers, and there are rumors that Younes was in contact with the regime, it seems more likely that someone loyal to Gaddafi was responsible. Regardless, the effect will still be to undermine rebel military efforts. The story concludes:

Much remains to be learned of Younes’s murder. According to Jalil, he was ambushed en route to a meeting with NTC representatives. Whether they were seeking to discuss military issues or to investigate Younes’s alleged collaboration remains unclear. Also unclear is where Younes’s body has gone – Jalil said it has not been recovered.

While Jalil blamed Gaddafi loyalists for the attack, Tarik Yousef, a professor at Georgetown University who lived in Benghazi, said he discounted the idea that regime gunmen could have killed Younes, given the commander’s constant security.

“I think its a wake up call for the National Transitional Council to deal with the matter of security within the cities under its control,” he told Al Jazeera.

The military structure, he said, is “highly undisciplined and not subject to the typical norms of command and control”.

Younes’s death is “a very unpleasant development at a critical moment,” he said.

Update: David Kenner comments:

The rosy view of the Libyan rebels is endangered by Younis’s death. It may well emerge that he was killed by a pro-Qaddafi hit squad, but even if it does, observers are still left to grapple with why Abdul Jalil was unable or unwilling to answer basic questions about the incident, and how such a significant security lapse could occur in rebel-controlled territory. And if it appears that someone within the rebel ranks killed Younis, Western officials and reporters are going to find themselves asking hard questions about signs of factionalism within the TNC and the murky nature of its military structure. Whatever the case may be, the honeymoon with the rebels is over; bring on the politics.

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