Thousands of Libyans gather for the funeral of Gadhafi’s son who was shot and killed this week

BANI WALID, Libya (AP) — Thousands converged in northwestern Libya for the funeral Friday of Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son and one-time heir apparent of Libya’s late leader Moammar Gadhafi, who was killed earlier this week when four masked assailants stormed into his home and fatally shot him.

Mourners carried his coffin in the town of Bani Walid, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of the capital, Tripoli, as well as large photographs of both Seif al-Islam, who was known mostly by his first name, and his father.

The crowd also waved plain green flags, Libya's official flag from 1977 to 2011 under Gadhafi, who ruled the country for more than 40 years before being toppled in a NATO-backed popular uprising in 2011. Gadhafi was killed later that year in his hometown of Sirte as fighting in Libya escalated into a full-blown civil war.

As the funeral procession got underway and the crowds swelled, a small group of supporters took Seif al-Islam's coffin away and later performed the funeral prayers and buried him.

Ali Saleh, a resident of Sirte city, told The Associated Press said that Gadhafi’s son was a “symbol of reconciliation” who was killed in a “horrible crime in the history of mankind.”

Seif al-Islam, 53, was killed on Tuesday inside his home in the town of Zintan, about 135 kilometers (85 miles) southwest of the capital, Tripoli, according to prosecutors.

Authorities said an initial investigation found that he was shot to death but did not provide further details. Seif al-Islam’s political team later released a statement saying “four masked men” had stormed his house and killed him in a “cowardly and treacherous assassination,” after disabling security cameras.

Seif al-Islam was captured by fighters in Zintan late in 2011 while trying to flee to neighboring Niger. The fighters released him in June 2017, after one of Libya’s rival governments granted him amnesty.

“The pain of loss weighs heavily on my heart, and it intensifies because I can’t bid him farewell from within my homeland — a pain that words can’t ease," Seif al-Islam's brother Mohamed Gadhafi, who lives in exile outside Libya though his current whereabouts are unknown, wrote on Facebook on Friday.

"But my solace lies in the fact that the loyal sons of the nation are fulfilling their duty and will give him a farewell befitting his stature,” the brother wrote.

Since the uprising that toppled Gadhafi, Libya plunged into chaos during which the oil-rich North African country split, with rival administrations now in the east and west, backed by various armed groups and foreign governments.

Seif al-Islam was Gadhafi’s second-born son and was seen as the reformist face of the Gadhafi regime — someone with diplomatic outreach who had worked to improve Libya’s relations with Western countries up until the 2011 uprising.

The United Nations imposed sanctions on Seif al-Islam that included a travel ban and an assets freeze for his inflammatory public statements encouraging violence against anti-Gadhafi protesters during the 2011 uprising. The International Criminal Court later charged him with crimes against humanity related to the 2011 uprising.

In July 2021, Seif al-Islam told the New York Times that he was considering returning to Libya's political scene after a decade of absence during which he observed Middle East politics and reportedly reorganized his father’s political supporters.

He condemned the country's new leaders. "There’s no life here. Go to the gas station — there’s no diesel,″ Seif al-Islam told the Times.

In November 2021, he announced his candidacy in the country’s presidential election in a controversial move that was met with outcry from anti-Gadhafi political forces in western and eastern Libya.

The country’s High National Elections Committee disqualified him, but the election wasn’t held over disputes between rival administrations and armed groups.

Associated Press writer Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.

Thousands of Libyans crowd to attend the funeral of Seif al-Islam, son of former Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi, in Bani Walid city, Libya, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

Thousands of Libyans crowd to attend the funeral of Seif al-Islam, son of former Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi, as they wave plain green flags, Libya's official flag from 1977 to 2011 under Gadhafi, in Bani Walid, 146 kilometers (91 miles) southeast of the capital, Tripoli, Libya, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad)

Libyans march to attend the funeral of Seif al-Islam, son of then Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi, in Bani Walid city, Libya, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad)

Libyans march to attend the funeral of Seif al-Islam, son of former Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi, as they hold a poster of his father in Bani Walid city, Libya, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad)

FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2011, file photo, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi speaks to the media at a press conference in a hotel in Tripoli, Libya. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

Libyans march to attend the funeral of Seif al-Islam, son of former Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi, as they hold a poster of his father in Bani Walid city, Libya, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad)

Thousands of Catholic devotees commemorated Good Friday across Latin America with processions and ceremonies re-enacting the crucifixion of Jesus.

In Antigua, a colonial-era city in southern Guatemala, dozens dressed in purple and white robes and made their way under the early morning sun, many of them penitents known as “cucuruchos.” Others carried centuries-old images of Jesus through cobblestone streets.

The city hosts more than a dozen processions throughout Holy Week, set against a backdrop of volcanoes.

Marcos Bautista, 63, said he has attended the Good Friday observances since his father brought him along as a baby in his arms.

“To describe Holy Week in Antigua, there are no words that can capture what it feels like," Bautista said. “It’s a feeling that, just by speaking about what Jesus has done in our lives, moves me deeply.”

In Bolivia, President Rodrigo Paz traveled to the southern city of Tarija to participate in Good Friday ceremonies.

The country is a secular state under its constitution and its leaders refrained from engaging in any religious events between 2006 and 2025. But Paz — who took office last November — broke with precedent by attending Palm Sunday Mass carrying a palm frond.

In the capital city of La Paz, government authorities and military bands accompanied Good Friday processions, in which hooded penitents carried the Holy Sepulcher through the streets.

Bolivia remains a predominantly Catholic country, alongside strong Indigenous spiritual traditions. In some households, it is customary to eat only fish on Good Friday and prepare up to 12 dishes representing the apostles of Jesus, a tradition that has declined in recent years amid an economic crisis.

In Ecuador, where about 80% of the population identifies as Catholic, processions were held across major cities.

In Guayaquil, roughly half a million faithful attended the “Cristo del Consuelo” procession. Amid displays of devotion, some participants walked barefoot, while others wore thorn crowns or dragged crosses.

In the capital, Quito, the “Jesús del Gran Poder” procession drew more than 150,000 faithful, who filled the historic center’s streets with chants and prayers as they accompanied an image of Jesus carrying the cross.

Thousands more climbed the Monserrate Hill in neighboring Colombia. At more than 10,200 feet (3,100 meters) above sea level, they reached the summit in the capital city of Bogotá to attend Mass at the basilica. Similar observances, including reenactments of the Stations of the Cross, were held in other parts of the country, including Medellín.

While the share of Catholics in Latin America has declined over the past decade, the faith remains the region’s largest religion.

In several countries, including Mexico, Peru and Argentina, more than 60% of adults still identify as Catholic, according to 2024 surveys by the Pew Research Center and Latinobarómetro.

AP journalists Moisés Castillo in Antigua, Guatemala; Carlos Valdez in La Paz, Bolivia; Gonzalo Solano and Gabriela Molina, in Quito, Ecuador, contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Penitents from the Nazareno brotherhood carry a statue of Jesus down the steps of the Cathedral Basilica of St. James the Apostle for a Good Friday procession during Holy Week in Tunja, Colombia, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A hooded penitent from the Nazareno brotherhood waits for the Good Friday procession inside the Cathedral Basilica of St. James the Apostle during Holy Week in Tunja, Colombia, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Young women and girls carry jeweled hearts representing the Virgin Mary at a Good Friday procession during Holy Week in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Hooded penitents participate in a Good Friday procession during Holy Week in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

A statue of Jesus Christ with a cross makes its way past electric cables at La Merced church's Good Friday procession during Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Women carry children dressed as penitents knows as "cucuruchos" on the sidelines of La Merced church's Good Friday procession during Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Penitents carry statues of Jesus Christ representing the Stations of the Cross at a Good Friday procession by La Merced church during Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala, just before sunrise Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Musicians dressed as Roman soldiers take part in La Merced church's Good Friday procession during Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)