Major General Fawzi al-Mansouri, head of the military intelligence department for eastern Libya’s Libyan National Army, was killed after an improvised explosive device detonated in his vehicle outside his home in Benghazi, according to Reuters. The blast targeted one of the senior security officials operating under the eastern-based military command, marking a significant attack in a city that serves as the principal stronghold of forces aligned with commander Khalifa Haftar.
Al-Mansouri held a senior position within the intelligence apparatus of the Libyan National Army, which controls much of eastern and southern Libya. Authorities did not immediately provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the bombing, including who planted the explosive device or whether investigators had identified a motive. The killing represents a notable security breach in Benghazi, where eastern authorities have consolidated substantial political and military control in recent years.
Libya remains divided between rival centers of power despite an October 2020 ceasefire that largely ended the major front-line warfare that had engulfed the country. The eastern administration and Haftar-aligned forces remain based in Benghazi, while the internationally recognized Government of National Unity operates from Tripoli in western Libya. Efforts to reunify the country’s political and security institutions have repeatedly stalled, leaving competing governments, military commands and armed groups operating across different parts of the country.
The 2020 ceasefire significantly reduced large-scale combat but did not eliminate political violence, localized armed clashes or attacks against security officials. Libya has struggled to establish unified national institutions since the 2011 uprising that overthrew longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi, with rival factions competing for territory, political influence and control over state resources. Al-Mansouri’s killing highlights the continued fragility of the security environment even in areas considered firmly under the control of one of Libya’s principal military factions.
