Gaddafi's cousin is plotting a comeback of sorts from a Cairo apartment

CAIRO — In an opulent apartment near the Nile River, the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi lives on.

A faded picture on one wall shows him as a young man lounging in a tent. In another, he’s dressed in military uniform and seated in a plane.

Every week, a group of men who once supported him gather here to discuss Libya’s future and their own fates. Presiding over the meetings in Cairo is Gaddafi’s cousin, whose apartment this is.

“He inhabits the hearts of millions,” Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam said, glancing at one of the pictures.

Gaddafi’s overthrow and death six years ago reversed the fortunes of his clan and allies, who thrived under his patronage for more than four decades. Tens of thousands of his loyalists fled into exile when he was killed, many to neighboring Egypt. They have remained ever since, yearning for a role in shaping a new Libya.

With Gaddafi’s sons wanted, in exile, in jail or dead, Gaddaf al-Dam has emerged as the main spokesman for the family and tribe. He represents the hopes of Libyans who once had privileged lives, and the anxieties of many others who fear the return of those who backed Gaddafi’s authoritarian rule.

As insecurity and violence grip Libya, Gaddaf al-Dam now senses an opening. He and his supporters are cultivating ties with influential tribes and former rivals disillusioned by the political inertia, seeking to undermine Libya’s weak Western-backed government.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/gaddafis-cousin-is-plotting-a-comeback-of-sorts-from-a-cairo-apartment/2017/11/13/3a008f4b-b652-4627-815b-793debc0f31a_story.html