The French radio network “France Info” reported that a former spy revealed a French conspiracy against the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
In his book “L’Homme de Tripoli”, Jean-François Lhuillier, a former French spy, looks back on his mission in Libya from 2009 to 2012. He recounts the fall and death of Colonel Gaddafi.
He was posted for France’s DGSE in Tripoli during the Arab Spring, preceding the fall of Colonel Gaddafi. “This is the mission that the Elysée has given to the DGSE: ‘Defect Libyan personalities who could be turned against Gaddafi’.” In this context, Lhuillier set himself an objective: “to weaken Gaddafi in particular by obtaining the escape of his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Moussa Koussa.”
“You push people to betray their country, but also their convictions”, explains the former spy. Meanwhile, the military operation carried out by France and Great Britain dealt a fatal blow to Gaddafi’s troops. The rebels were at the gates of power. Lhuillier also had the mission of contacting and helping them. On 20 October 2011, Gaddafi was lynched and assassinated. He denies the rumour that he was killed by a French spy.
Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.
The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December 2021, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba, who is leading the transitional government, to step down. In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.
