Rabat - Former Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi was plotting to assassinate Morocco’s late King Hassan II, according to Atif Abu Bakr, the former head of the political department ofthe Palestinian movement Fatah.
In an interview with Saudi Arabiantelevisionchannel Al Arabya news, Atif Abu Bakr said the late Libyan president sought, with the help of the Palestinian leader Sabri Al-Banna, known as Abu Nidal, to carry out an assassination operation against Hassan II in Rabat.
Abu Bakr said the Libyan and Palestinian leaders proposed the Syrian regime take the fall inthe operation.”Yet, the Syrians refused the proposal.”
Still, Qaddafi and Abu Nidal did not give up, and developed a new plan to eliminate the Moroccan king.
The former head of Fatah went on to add that the plan was coordinated with the knowledge of a Moroccan opposition member.
“In 1987, Libyan aircraft delivered weapons to Abu Nidal’s agents in Morocco, who were supposed to carry out the attack on Hassan II,” he explained.
“Every day, Hassan II leaves the Royal palace in Rabat via a road, crossing Hilton forest, located between the palace and the Sofite Hotel,” he said.
He explained that Abu Nidal’s men deployed seven machine guns, two RPGs, along with bombs on both sides of the road in the forest. They were waiting for Hassan II to cross the road in order to bombard the whole royal convoy, using rocket-propelled grenades.
“The commander of RPG was planning to bomb Hassan II’s armored vehicle, and the rest of the convoy was supposed to be targeted by machine guns.”
However, Abu Bakr told Al Arabiya News Channel that the plot was canceled at the last minute, citing fearsofa violent reaction from Morocco. He said it was canceled also due to the political agreement between the two regimes at the time.
Morocco’s Hassan II was not the only Arab leader on the list of targets that Moammar Qaddafi and Abu Nidal plotted to eliminate. In 1988, Libyan intelligence planned to assassinate Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during the African summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission
The post Qaddafi Planned to Assassinate Hassan II: Former Palestinian Politician appeared first on Morocco World News.