French intelligence website, Africa Intelligence, has said that the assault on Toyota cars’ dealership in Libya’s Benghazi by Mahmoud Al-Werfalli, who is a senior militia leader loyal to Khalifa Haftar and wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), left residents of the eastern city in utter terror.
Africa Intelligence said that the fact that Haftar didn’t react to the sabotage and vandalism caused to the Toyota dealership in Benghazi by Al-Werfalli and his entourage worried a lot of families living in Benghazi, adding that those families thought they were protected by Haftar before this assault.
The website said that many families in Benghazi expressed their willingness to leave the city to Tripoli in western Libya or even travel outside the county.
Africa Intelligence indicated that Haftar had become detached from his militias as a commander and gave that job to his sons – Khalid and Saddam – while the political issues were passed on to the elder son, Belgassem.
Toyota Dealership in Benghazi
Pro-Haftar senior military commander of Al-Saiqa Force, Mahmoud Al-Werfalli, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and war crimes, appeared in new footage ransacking Toyota cars’ dealership branch in Benghazi.
Al-Werfalli, who is still a fugitive wanted by the ICC in two arrest warrants, justified destroying the franchise branch in Benghazi by saying the owner was a “public funds’ Daeshi” (a term used to say that a person is stealing from state funds to build up their own wealth – kleptocrats).
The ICC-wanted killer added in the footage that the owner of the car dealership branch in Benghazi “is spending his money abroad instead of helping the Libyan people inside.”
“This is the money of Libyan people. You stay overseas because if you come back to Libya, you are dead!” Al-Werfalli said, threatening the owner of the Toyota branch.
In 2018, Al-Werfalli was filmed carrying out a mass execution of 10 unarmed detainees in Benghazi.
Al-Werfalli also ordered the execution of 20 unarmed detainees in July 2017. The International Criminal Court has issued two arrest warrants against him.
Interpol put Al-Werfalli on the Red List in February 2018 as per a request by the ICC as he faced charges of war crimes in 7 cases, including killing.
