Libyan PM deplores desecration of Sufi shrine

Tripoli, Jan 2 (IANS/AKI) Libya's United Nations backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj has condemned the raid on the Sufi tomb of Mahdi bin Mohammed Senussi, father of Libyas former king Idris Senussi in the southeast city of Kufra.

In a statement to Turkey's Anadolu news agency, Sarraj called Friday's attack a crime that violated the sanctity of the grave and sowed discord in conflict-wracked Libya.

Sarraj urged Libya's Attorney General and authorities to initiate criminal proceedings to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Premier also called on Libya's religious scholars, religious, political and social movements to deplore such criminal acts which he said drove citizens away from the spirit of Islam.

In the attack, an armed group stormed the shrine late on Friday dug up Senussi's grave and took his body to an unknown location, the Libya Observer reported.

Local residents pointed the finger at the Sobol al-Salam Brigade, an Islamist group that operates under the command of powerful warlord Khalifa Haftar and which controls most of Kufra.

Idris was King of Libya from 1951 to 1969 until he was ousted in a military coup led by late dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

--IANS/AKI

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