| by Mel Frykberg
Agencies
( September 26, 2012, Cairo, Sri Lanka
Guardian) The Libyan man who purportedly discovered former Libyan leader
Moammar Gaddafi hiding in a drainage pipe in his hometown died Tuesday after
Gadhafi’s supporters kidnapped him.
Fears rose immediately that his
death would fuel rising tensions between pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces.
Omran Shaban, a member of the
Misratan brigades, died in a Paris hospital allegedly as a result of a bullet
wound and torture he received after his kidnapping in July by militia members
from the city of Bani Walid. They apparently were angered by the role Shaban
had played in Gaddafi’s capture and subsequent death.
The city of Misrata led western
Libya’s rebellion against Gaddafi, who died in October after being pulled out
of a drainage pipe in his hometown of Sirte. In a new museum for the revolution
set up in Misrata, video of Gadhafi pleading for his life that day play on a
continuous loop.
The nearby city of Bani Walid
remains one of the last strongholds of Gaddafi supporters, and many of its residents remain
loyal to the late dictator.
Since his regime collapsed,
militias from Bani Walid and Misrata have engaged in several standoffs that
have involved the kidnapping of fighters as well as journalists.
Only last-minute intervention by
government members and other negotiators prevented a final battle between the
rebels and remnants of the regime.
Shaban, from Misrata, was
critically injured in July after he was captured along with a colleague from
Libya’s Shield Brigade military force. They had been dispatched to the city
after the capture of two prominent Misratan journalists there four days
earlier.
Shaban was shot in the neck and
paralyzed. He was also believed to have been subjected to severe torture during
his two-month captivity. Following his release several weeks ago, he had to be
airlifted to Tripoli and then flown to Paris for medical treatment.
His release was a result of
months of intensive negotiations led by National Congress President Mohammed
Magarief. The exchange involved setting free militia members from Bani Walid
who had been captured by Misratan fighters.
Shaban’s death has triggered
anger in his hometown, especially among the city’s volatile brigades, as well
as among members of the Libyan Parliament. Magarief has promised to bring the
perpetrators to justice.
“I received with great sadness
the news of the death of Omran Shaban,” Margarief said. “He was a martyr who
suffered from kidnapping and torture which led, in the end, to his death. This
is a punishable crime for which the perpetrators must be found and prosecuted.”
Shaban’s death comes amid the
government’s struggles to disband the various militias in charge of security
following the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, as a result of a
Sept. 11 militia attack on the American consulate in Benghazi.
The government promised last
weekend to disband the militias in 48 hours and bring security under the
control of a nascent national army. While several militias agreed to hand in
their weapons and step down, many others fled with their heavy weaponry.
The state’s inability to provide
security was evident Tuesday at Tripoli’s parliamentary headquarters. Members
of the national army and former militia members engaged in a firefight forcing
the emergency evacuation of Parliament.
Nancy A. Youssef contributed to
this report from Cairo.
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