“I think Gaddafi’s death was in a very honorable condition, fighting with his gun the foreigners attacking him from the sky in his country where he was born.”
Ahmed Khalifa NIASSE
Ahmed Khalifa Niasse with French President Nicolas Sarkozy
We know that two Libyan nationals (El saber and El Marzouk) as well as a Senegalese person (Ahmed Khalifa Niasse) were arrested on 20 February 1988 at Dakar airport for attempting to smuggle weapons and explosives into the country.
According to Colonel Gaye,
“NIASSE, when interviewed, claimed that both MARZOUK and SABER were terrorists and that he had been asked to set them up. Niasse however refused to disclose his contact who had been acting on his behalf.”
Ahmed Khalifa NIASSE
You will find an English translation of his WIKIPEDIA page here: Ahmed Khalifa Niasse
“Ahmed Khalifa Niasse is one of the most prominent businessmen of Senegal, with a fortune estimated at over 100 billion CFA francs ($210 million). He is the head of a family holding company he created under the name of AKN Holding, of which he and some members of his family are the only shareholders.”
Our Friend, Paul Feeney, has done some research about Niasse.
In 1979, inspired by the Iranian Islamic revolution, Niasse tried to form his own party: Hezbollah. Under the Senegalese constitution, there were four legal political parties and religious parties were especially banned.
Frustrated, Niasse recruited Senegalese members for Gadhafi’s Islamic Legion (1974-1990?). Niasse hoped the Legion would overthrow the then ruling government of Senghor. When his revolution failed to take off, he fled Senegal.
He was denied asylum in France and was obliged to flee to Libya where he stayed until he was captured in 1980 in Niger. He was brought back to Senegal and jailed but pardoned in 1982, by the then President Diouf who had replaced Senghor.
Special Envoy to Gadhafi
“Tripoli- Libya (PANA) — Libyan Colonel Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday evening received a message from President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal. According to the Libyan national television, Wade’s special envoy Ahmed Khalifa Niasse handed the message, which it described as urgent. Without giving further details, the television hinted Wade’s message possibly dealt with developments in the regional situation.” PANA 03/10/2003
Comment on Gadhafi’s Death
Senegalese religious leader Ahmed Khalifa Niasse was a long-time political adviser to Gadhafi. Niasse, whose family is a powerful part of Senegal’s Islamic Tijani brotherhood, said Gadhafi’s death was a stand against outside aggression.
“I think his death was in a very honorable condition, fighting with his gun the foreigners attacking him from the sky in his country where he was born,” said Niasse. VOA 2011
REFERENCES
Gadhafi Remains Popular in Much of Africa’s Sahel — VOA news
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The Senegal Timer: Ahmed Khalifa NIASSE (2017)
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