Former Libyan envoy confirms Sadr’s killing

33 years after his disappearance, you can still see images of Imam Musa as-Sadr plastered on the walls of Shi’i areas of Lebanon.  He was instrumental in affecting change for Lebanon’s Shi’i community.  Long engulfed in poverty and dispossession, Imam Musa as-Sadr taught them that their misery was not permanent and empowered them through a revolutionary understanding of Shi’ism to alleviate their plight.  He continues to be the cornerstone of Shi’i activism in Lebanon today, and he is exalted by both Amal and Hizbullah, although he officially established the former.   We’ve long suspected Qaddafi of murdering the Imam. as-Sadr was sympathetic to the Palestinian cause but was very critical of the PLO’s strong-arm tactics in the south – Lebanon’s Shi’i heartland.  The belief is that Qaddafi murdered the Imam as a favor to Arafat, who was always intolerant of criticism. Qaddafi and his entire clique should be held accountable for the Imam’s death and for all those who have died not just in this uprising but throughout his 41-year tyranny.   LebanonNow reports: A former Libyan envoy has said that Lebanese Shia leader Imam Moussa al-Sadr “was shot and killed during his visit to Libya in 1978.”

In an interview with Al-Hayat newspaper to be published on Wednesday, Major Abdel Meneem al-Houni, who has resigned from his post as Libya’s Arab League envoy, confirmed Sadr’s death.

Houni, who was also Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi’s ally during the country’s 1969 revolution, said that Sadr was buried in the Libyan region of Sebha.

The Lebanese Amal Movement – headed by Speaker Nabih Berri – has repeatedly said that Libya is responsible for Sadr’s disappearance in 1978.