Younis addressing a rally in Benghazi in July as rebel commander-in-chief
General Abdel Fatah Younis, who has died aged 67, was a key figure in Muammar Gaddafi's 1969 coup d'état against King Idris of Libya. Younis remained within Gaddafi's inner circle and, until recently, served as his interior minister and commander of special forces. However, on 22 February this year, Younis unexpectedly defected to the Libyan rebels based in Benghazi, in the province of Cyrenaica, who made him commander-in-chief, with Omar al-Hariri as head of military affairs and Khalifa Haftar, with whom Younis came into conflict, as commander of ground forces.
A good-looking man with a shock of white hair, Younis was a charismatic figure and his defection raised the morale of many rebels, who had idealism but lacked military training. When asked what kind of democracy he wanted, he said he envisioned "a genuine democracy in which we Libyans can lead a five-star life. Libya earns $150m with its oil in a single day." Some rebels, not least the Islamists, nursed fierce grievances over Younis's harsh record as Gaddafi's effective number two. Younis defended his legitimacy as a rebel, arguing that he had only accepted the post of interior minister for the past three and a half years on the condition that he would never have to fire on his own people. He told a journalist that he had written to Gaddafi in January warning him of unrest and of anger over rising food prices. Gaddafi had sent the letter back with the text crossed out in red pen, as a warning.
Many commentators expressed scepticism at Younis's defection. The BBC's John Simpson has suggested that Gaddafi may have sent Younis to Benghazi to arrange a Tiananmen Square-style massacre of demonstrators but that the rebels captured him; Younis then promptly announced that he had planned to join them and the rebels found it convenient to go along with this possible fiction. The New Yorker's Jon Lee Anderson has written that it was possible that Younis had genuinely decided to do the right thing by defecting, but concluded: "At worst, he was a rank opportunist with the moral scruples of an octopus. That, to me, seemed more likely."
Given his valuable military expertise, Younis was soon criticised for failing to deliver victory for the rebels against Gaddafi's regime in Tripoli. Some complained that although he made sporadic visits to the frontline at Brega in the Gulf of Sirte, he left untrained youngsters hopelessly manning the front while he remained safely at his Benghazi base. Rebels in Misrata, east of Tripoli, were said to have refused to take orders from Benghazi. Gaddafi's approach on Benghazi in March was only aborted by the intervention of the French airforce.
Younis was born in the Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountain) area, east of Benghazi. He went to the Libyan military academy in Benghazi with Gaddafi. When Gaddafi carried out the coup against King Idris on 1 September 1969, Younis took control of the Benghazi radio station. He rose quickly to the rank of general and for 41 years headed Libya's special forces. In 1992, he attended a key meeting with the British ambassador to Egypt where he apologised for Libya's involvement in the killing of the British police officer Yvonne Fletcher and offered to extradite her killers. He also admitted Libyan support for the IRA and offered compensation for their victims.
Confusion has surrounded Younis's death. On 24 July, he was reported to have been killed under "mysterious circumstances" in the Fourth Battle of Brega. Younis himself revealed this to be untrue in a radio interview the next day. He was then shot, along with two colonels, on 28 July, the day he had been recalled by the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) to answer questions about the war to a panel of judges. The NTC's oil minister told the press that the gunmen who shot him were members of the Obaida Ibn Jarrah Brigade, an Islamist militia group loosely attached to the rebels. The Gaddafi government's spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, suggested the killing had been carried out by al-Qaida. The motive for his killing may have been the suspicion that his family, who are from the Obeidi tribe in eastern Libya, had maintained links with Gaddafi. In April, Gaddafi's daughter Aisha refused to reject the suggestion that Younis remained in contact with her father after his defection. Younis's death came shortly after 32 nations, including the US and the UK, formally recognised the NTC as Libya's legitimate government.
At Younis's funeral, his son Ashraf called for Gaddafi's return to bring stability back to Libya. "We want the green flag back," he shouted to the crowd, referring to Gaddafi's national banner. It was a risky display of emotion in a region so supportive of the rebels.
Younis is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
• Abdel Fatah Younis, military leader, born 1944; died 28 July 201
A good-looking man with a shock of white hair, Younis was a charismatic figure and his defection raised the morale of many rebels, who had idealism but lacked military training. When asked what kind of democracy he wanted, he said he envisioned "a genuine democracy in which we Libyans can lead a five-star life. Libya earns $150m with its oil in a single day." Some rebels, not least the Islamists, nursed fierce grievances over Younis's harsh record as Gaddafi's effective number two. Younis defended his legitimacy as a rebel, arguing that he had only accepted the post of interior minister for the past three and a half years on the condition that he would never have to fire on his own people. He told a journalist that he had written to Gaddafi in January warning him of unrest and of anger over rising food prices. Gaddafi had sent the letter back with the text crossed out in red pen, as a warning.
Many commentators expressed scepticism at Younis's defection. The BBC's John Simpson has suggested that Gaddafi may have sent Younis to Benghazi to arrange a Tiananmen Square-style massacre of demonstrators but that the rebels captured him; Younis then promptly announced that he had planned to join them and the rebels found it convenient to go along with this possible fiction. The New Yorker's Jon Lee Anderson has written that it was possible that Younis had genuinely decided to do the right thing by defecting, but concluded: "At worst, he was a rank opportunist with the moral scruples of an octopus. That, to me, seemed more likely."
Given his valuable military expertise, Younis was soon criticised for failing to deliver victory for the rebels against Gaddafi's regime in Tripoli. Some complained that although he made sporadic visits to the frontline at Brega in the Gulf of Sirte, he left untrained youngsters hopelessly manning the front while he remained safely at his Benghazi base. Rebels in Misrata, east of Tripoli, were said to have refused to take orders from Benghazi. Gaddafi's approach on Benghazi in March was only aborted by the intervention of the French airforce.
Younis was born in the Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountain) area, east of Benghazi. He went to the Libyan military academy in Benghazi with Gaddafi. When Gaddafi carried out the coup against King Idris on 1 September 1969, Younis took control of the Benghazi radio station. He rose quickly to the rank of general and for 41 years headed Libya's special forces. In 1992, he attended a key meeting with the British ambassador to Egypt where he apologised for Libya's involvement in the killing of the British police officer Yvonne Fletcher and offered to extradite her killers. He also admitted Libyan support for the IRA and offered compensation for their victims.
Confusion has surrounded Younis's death. On 24 July, he was reported to have been killed under "mysterious circumstances" in the Fourth Battle of Brega. Younis himself revealed this to be untrue in a radio interview the next day. He was then shot, along with two colonels, on 28 July, the day he had been recalled by the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) to answer questions about the war to a panel of judges. The NTC's oil minister told the press that the gunmen who shot him were members of the Obaida Ibn Jarrah Brigade, an Islamist militia group loosely attached to the rebels. The Gaddafi government's spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, suggested the killing had been carried out by al-Qaida. The motive for his killing may have been the suspicion that his family, who are from the Obeidi tribe in eastern Libya, had maintained links with Gaddafi. In April, Gaddafi's daughter Aisha refused to reject the suggestion that Younis remained in contact with her father after his defection. Younis's death came shortly after 32 nations, including the US and the UK, formally recognised the NTC as Libya's legitimate government.
At Younis's funeral, his son Ashraf called for Gaddafi's return to bring stability back to Libya. "We want the green flag back," he shouted to the crowd, referring to Gaddafi's national banner. It was a risky display of emotion in a region so supportive of the rebels.
Younis is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
• Abdel Fatah Younis, military leader, born 1944; died 28 July 201
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