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Nothing Left: Nepal Flood Survivors Face Loss and Uncertainty

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 article examines the unresolved 1978 disappearance of Lebanese Shiite leader Imam Musa al-Sadr, Sheikh Mohammed Yacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine during a visit to Libya.
  • Former Libyan officials said al-Sadr was killed and alleged that a pilot linked to the case was later eliminated after transporting his body for burial in southern Libya.
  • Abdessalam Jalloud said Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini sought an explanation, but the case did not prevent Libya from supporting Iran during its war with Iraq.

The fate of Imam Musa al-Sadr, Lebanon’s leading Shiite cleric, remains shrouded in unanswered questions nearly five decades after he disappeared in Libya. Al-Sadr vanished on Aug. 31, 1978, during a visit accompanied by Sheikh Mohammed Yacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine. No trace of the three men has ever been found.

It is clear that Imam al-Sadr was eliminated.

· Abdel Moneim al-HouniThe former senior Libyan official gave his assessment of the cleric’s disappearance.

Former Libyan officials interviewed about Moammar al-Gaddafi’s rule offered accounts pointing to a deliberate killing. Abdel Moneim al-Houni, who held senior positions after the 1969 coup, said there was no doubt al-Sadr had been eliminated. “This is certain, and it is the conviction of every Libyan I have met,” he said.

This is certain, and it is the conviction of every Libyan I have met.

· Abdel Moneim al-HouniHouni said Libyans believed al-Sadr had been killed.

Houni also described the fate of his brother-in-law, Najm al-Din al-Yaziji, a lieutenant colonel who piloted Gaddafi’s aircraft. According to family members, al-Yaziji transported al-Sadr’s body for burial in the Sabha area of southern Libya. They believed Libyan security services killed him because he knew what had happened and could expose the secret. Houni presented the allegation as the kind of concealment that can follow a crime of this nature.

Are you accusing me?

· Moammar al-GaddafiJalloud recalled Gaddafi’s response when he mentioned the disappearance.

Abdessalam Jalloud, once the Libyan regime’s second-ranking figure, said he had referred to the disappearance only once in a conversation with Gaddafi. “Are you accusing me?” Gaddafi replied, ending the exchange. Jalloud also recalled meeting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran shortly after Iran’s 1979 revolution. Khomeini hoped Libya would explain the case so cooperation between the two revolutions would not be obstructed. Yet Jalloud said the issue did not stop Libya from supplying Iran with missiles and helping it obtain weapons during the Iran-Iraq war. Lebanese authorities have not disclosed the outcome of contacts with post-Gaddafi forces about the disappearance.

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 described Khomeini’s reaction during a meeting after Iran’s revolution.
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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