Abdul Fatah Younis

Abdul Fatah Younis Al-Obeidi (; , sometimes transliterated Fattah Younis or Fattah Younes or Fatah Younes; 1944 – 28 July 2011) was a Libyan military officer and politician. He served as Libya's interior minister until his resignation on 22 February 2011 when he defected to the rebel side in the First Libyan Civil War. He was considered a key supporter of Muammar Gaddafi and even No. 2 in the Libyan government.

Following his resignation and defection, he urged that the Libyan Army should "join the people and respond to their legitimate demands". According to the NTC's oil minister, Ali Tarhouni, Younis was killed by members of an anti-Gaddafi rebel group and the Libyan government stated that he had been killed by the rebels who suspected he was a double agent. He became minister for the public security, and attended a key meeting with the British ambassador to Egypt in 1992 where he apologised for Libya's involvement in the murder of Yvonne Fletcher, and offered to extradite her killers; he also admitted Libyan support of the IRA and offered compensation for their victims. By April, Younis held the role of commander-in-chief of the armed forces, with Omar El-Hariri serving as Younis's Chief of Staff, while Haftar took the third most senior position as the commander of ground forces with the rank of lieutenant general.

Death

On 24 July, Younis was reported by Al Bawaba to have been killed under "mysterious circumstances" on the first day of the Fourth Battle of Brega without specifying where they got such information. Younis denied this report in a radio interview the next day. The NTC said that he was summoned from the Brega front to answer questions regarding the misuse of military assets, but he never made it to the meeting.

Later that day, Younis was killed under unclear circumstances. His body and those of two other officers were found dumped on the outskirts of Benghazi. They had been shot, and the bodies burnt afterwards. NTC head Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said Younis was killed by pro-Gaddafi assailants, and the head of the group responsible had been arrested.

At his funeral, Younis was hailed as a hero of the revolution by his nephew. However, as he was laid to rest, his son broke down and yelled: We want Muammar to come back! We want the green flag back!

Perpetrators A member of the rebel special forces and close aide to Younis said that he was killed by another group of rebels known as the 17 February Martyrs' Brigade as a revenge attack for incidents that occurred when Younis was interior minister.

According to the NTC, Younis was "summoned from the front by a committee of four judges with the knowledge of the NTC's executive committee, the rebels' de facto government." However, the NTC said that it didn't know "why this arrest (warrant) was issued", "who was present at the meeting when the decision was made", or "on what basis the decision was made." According to military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani, the judges who summoned Younis "did not have the authority do so" and "the defence minister had written a letter recalling the arrest warrant."

A rebel official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Younis was brought back to the Benghazi area on 27 July, and held at a military compound until 28 July, when he was summoned to the Defense Ministry for questioning. When they left the compound, two men from the security team escorting the detainees opened fire on Younis from their car with automatic weapons, said the officer, who was at the compound and saw the shooting. He said the two men were members of the 17 February Martyrs' Brigade and shouted that Younis was a traitor who killed their father in Derna, an eastern city. "The men's leader was shouting, 'Don't do it!' but they shot Younis and his two aides, and took their bodies in their car and drove away," the officer said. The NTC has confirmed that Younis was shot after he was released following questioning.

In an October 2020 interview, Jalil denied ordering Younis' assassination, but accused Younis of collusion with the Gaddafi regime and alleged his defection was a ruse to preserve the "deep state" of the Gaddafi regime.

Prosecution On 28 November, NTC chief military prosecutor Yussef Al-Aseifr announced that former NTC deputy prime minister Ali Abd-al-Aziz al-Isawi had been named chief suspect in the killing of Younis. Isawi denied involvement in the killing, saying he "never signed any decision relating to Abdel Fattah Younes."