Libya’s top religious authority, Dar al-Ifta, said on Monday that one of its most senior members had been killed, more than a month after he was kidnapped.
It said it had “obtained confirmation” of the death of Sheikh Nader al-Omrani, who belonged to regional and international Islamic organisations.
His murder was “a great loss not only for Libya but for the entire Muslim community”, Dar al-Ifta said in a statement, without giving other details.
According to security sources in Tripoli, which is controlled by a loose alliance of militias of different political and religious factions, Omrani’s body has not yet been found.
Omrani, considered a moderate, was kidnapped from in front of a mosque in early October in the Libyan capital.
Dar al-Ifta, which called for the sheikh’s murder to be avenged in keeping with Islamic law, is headed by controversial Sheikh Sadek al-Ghariani, who is opposed to both of Libya’s rival administrations.
Five years after Libya’s 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, the country is embroiled in violence and political chaos as powerful militias and the two rival governments vie for power.
