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🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Conflict & Security

Ali al-Taher Ridge Emerges as Flashpoint in Israel-Hezbollah War

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • The disappearance of Lebanese Shiite leader Imam Musa al-Sadr and two companions during a 1978 visit to Libya remains unresolved, with no trace of the men found.
  • Former Libyan official Abdel Moneim al-Houni said al-Sadr was killed and relayed relatives’ claims that a pilot connected to the case was also killed after transporting the imam’s body.
  • Former Libyan deputy leader Abdessalam Jalloud said Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini sought an explanation, but the case did not prevent Libya and Iran from cooperating.

The fate of Imam Musa al-Sadr remains shrouded in uncertainty 15 years after Moammar al-Gaddafi’s fall. The head of Lebanon’s Supreme Islamic Shiite Council disappeared during a visit to Libya on Aug. 31, 1978, alongside Sheikh Mohammed Yacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine. None of the three has ever been found.

Lebanese authorities have not disclosed the outcome of contacts they held with the forces that governed Libya after Gaddafi’s fall in 2011. Conversations with former Libyan officials offered competing pieces of a story that has never been closed.

It is clear that Imam al-Sadr was eliminated. This is certain, and it is the conviction of every Libyan I have met.

· Abdel Moneim al-HouniThe former Libyan official described his belief about al-Sadr’s fate.

Abdel Moneim al-Houni, who held several senior positions after the 1969 coup, said al-Sadr had clearly been killed. He also described the death of his brother-in-law, Najm al-Din al-Yaziji, a lieutenant colonel who flew Gaddafi’s plane. According to family members, al-Yaziji transported al-Sadr’s body to southern Libya, near Sabha, and Libyan security services killed him to keep the matter secret.

I alluded to the disappearance once. He merely replied, ‘Are you accusing me?’ The conversation ended there.

· Abdessalam JalloudJalloud recalled indirectly raising the disappearance with Moammar al-Gaddafi.

Abdessalam Jalloud, once the regime’s number two, said he raised the disappearance with Gaddafi only indirectly. “I alluded to the disappearance once. He merely replied, ‘Are you accusing me?’ The conversation ended there.”

Jalloud also recalled a meeting with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini soon after Iran’s 1979 revolution. “He expressed the hope that an explanation would be released about the circumstances of the case so that there would be no obstacle to cooperation between the two revolutions.” Jalloud said the issue did not block later cooperation, including Libya’s provision of missiles and assistance in Iran’s efforts to obtain weapons during its war with Iraq in the 1980s.

He expressed the hope that an explanation would be released about the circumstances of the case so that there would be no obstacle to cooperation between the two revolutions.

· Abdessalam JalloudJalloud recounted Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s response during a 1979 meeting.
About this summary

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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