AYDOĞAN KALABALIK – 11 years have passed since Libya’s ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed by opposition armed groups in Sirte; In this process, most of the Gaddafi family left Libya.
Gaddafi seized power in 1969, when he was only a 27-year-old lieutenant, by overthrowing King Idris in a bloodless military coup. He ruled Libya with an iron fist for 42 years.
He wanted to leave his eldest son Seyfulislam in his place. However, with the onset of the Arab Spring events, he could not achieve this.
Muammer Gaddafi was killed by opposition armed groups in his hometown of Sirte on October 20, 2011. There was no activity in Libya on the 11th anniversary of his death.
Most of the Gaddafi family left Libya with the events of the Arab Spring. His family members are scattered across four countries today, namely Libya, Oman, Turkey and Lebanon.
– 3 of Gaddafi’s 8 children were killed in the Arab Spring
Muammar Gaddafi, like some other dictators in the Middle East, did not die before he was overthrown without experiencing the pain of a child. He lost three of his sons in a short period of eight months.
Of Gaddafi’s 8 children, 5 are alive today and only one lives in Libya, in the south of the country.
Gaddafi’s first wife was Fethiye Halid. From this marriage, his son Mohammed was born. Gaddafi, who divorced Fethiye lady after taking over the administration in Libya, married Safiye Firkaş. He had 7 children, one of whom was a girl, from his second marriage. The names of their children are Seyfulislam, Sadi, Hanibal, Mutasım, Hamis, Ayşe and Seyfularab, respectively.
– His sons killed in the Arab Spring
Gaddafi’s first son, who was killed, was Seyfularab. Seyfularab was killed in an air attack by NATO on Gaddafi’s palace in April 2011. The Libyan government announced that three grandchildren of Seyfularab and Gaddafi lost their lives in that attack. Seyfularab, born in 1981, was injured in the US attack on Tripoli in 1986.
Hamis, one of his sons, also died in the same period. Born in 1983, Khamis was the commander of the 32nd Battalion. The private military unit he led was also called the “Hamis Brigade”. He received military training in Russia. He was responsible for the defense against NATO’s attacks on Tripoli. It was partially successful thanks to Russian defense systems. After Khamis was killed in a NATO attack in August 2011, the control of Tripoli passed to the revolutionaries.
Mutasim, one of Gaddafi’s sons, stayed with his father. She went to Sirte with her father, and there she was captured and killed by the dissidents with her father. Mutasim, born in 1974, was an officer and national security adviser in the Libyan army.
– Gaddafi’s surviving children
Gaddafi’s eldest son Seyfulislam still lives in Sabhe, Libya. There was talk that Seyfulislam, who was born in 1972, would replace his father. The International Criminal Court issued a search warrant for Seyfulislam in June 2011. He was captured in the city of Ubari in November 2011 after his father was killed. He was tried in 2015 and sentenced to death. But it was released in 2017. He lived in a secluded place until he announced that he would run for the Libyan presidency in 2021. He emerged from the city of Sebhe in the south of the country in 2021 and applied for candidacy.
Sadi, born in 1973, who is interested in sports, played football for a long time in his youth. Two big teams of Libya, Ehli and İttihad, played ball. He was transferred to Italy to the Perugia team, but was not very successful. He was at the head of the military unit called the Sadi Brigade to suppress the actions during the revolutionary events. This brigade besieged Benghazi against the revolutionaries. Sadi fled to Niger after his father was overthrown. It was handed over to Libya by the Niger administration in 2014. He was released from prison on September 6, 2021, after serving 7 years in prison. Then it was announced that he went to Turkey.
Gaddafi’s other surviving son Hanibal has been held in prison in Lebanon since 2015. Born in 1975, Hanibal studied maritime and logistics. On July 19, 2008, he was detained with his Lebanese model wife Alina Skaf for what happened in a hotel in Switzerland. This is why a crisis broke out between Libya and Switzerland. Hanibal took refuge in Algeria after his father was overthrown. Then he went to Beirut with his wife, but there he was caught and imprisoned.
It is known that Gaddafi’s son, Mohammed, from his first wife, lives in Oman. Born in 1969, Muhammed was a businessman who mostly owned communication and GSM companies. He was also the chairman of Coca Cola’s board of directors in Libya. Mohammed was blamed for the internet shutdown on February 17, 2011, when the events of the Arab Spring began. He took refuge in Algeria. He was subsequently admitted to Oman as a refugee. He was against some of his father’s policies and did not show any de facto resistance to the Arab Spring.
Gaddafi’s only daughter, Ayşe, was born in 1976. Ayşe, who is the mother of 4 children, was named “Peace Princess” because she was mostly involved in charity work. She was named a goodwill ambassador by the United Nations in 2009 she. Having studied law, Ayşe went to France to do her doctorate. However, after the USA attacked Iraq in 2003, she returned to her country in response to this. Ayşe, who is married to Ahmed Gaddafi from her father’s tribe, still lives in Oman.
– His adopted daughter
Gaddafi also had a daughter named Hena, whom he adopted. It was announced that Hena, who did not know much about her, died in 1986 in the US air attack on Tripoli. But 25 years later, it was revealed that Hena lived and got married.
– Gaddafi’s wives
Gaddafi’s first wife, Fethiye Halid, was a teacher. They got married in 1969. It is stated that their marriage lasted several months. From this marriage, Mohammed Gaddafi was born. Fethiye lady passed away in 2018.
Gaddafi’s second wife Safiye Firkaş was born in Beyda, Libya. She was working as a nurse in a hospital. Gaddafi met him at the hospital where he was treated in 1970, and the couple married that same year. Gaddafi had 6 sons and 1 daughter from this marriage.