Mahmoud al-Werfalli, a commander in the Libyan National Army, under Khalifa Haftar, who was wanted for war crimes has been assassinated by Gunmen.
This latest happening underscores the risk of the resurgence of violence on ground, posing a big challenge to Libya’s new unity government.
Military sources disclosed Werfalli was shot from a car outside a hospital in Benghazi alongside two of his bodyguards, as friction grows between rival factions in eastern Libya.
Werfalli was a commander in an elite unit attached to Khalifa Haftar’s LNA that is based in eastern Libya.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague indicted Werfalli twice for the suspected killing of more than 40 prisoners, including in a 2018 incident in which photographs appeared to show him shooting 10 blindfolded prisoners.
Friction between rival factions in eastern Libya has been escalating for some time now and could further degenerate into a series of retaliatory attacks.
The GNU was sworn into office this month, taking over from the two rival administrations that have run in east and west Libya for years, as part of a UN-facilitated peace effort.