TUNIS, February 4. /TASS/. The Libyan presidential council, which serves as the head of state, believes that son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi Saif al-Islam was assassinated to undermine efforts at national reconciliation, Chairman Mohamed al-Menfi said in a statement.

"It is necessary to thwart the goal behind this murder, namely, to undermine efforts for national reconciliation to hold free and fair elections in which the people choose their own leadership," he said, calling on all political forces to refrain from incitement and show restraint in public discourse.

The council also expressed condolences to the family of the deceased, his relatives and the Gaddafi tribe.

On Tuesday, Libya al-Ahrar TV channel said Gaddafi's son was assassinated in the city of Ez-Zintan. On Wednesday, the Prosecutor General's Office confirmed the death of Seif al-Islam from a gunshot wound.

Seif al-Islam put forward his candidacy for the post of head of state in 2021, but those elections never took place. The reaction to his nomination was mixed: there were protests against his candidacy in some regions, but there were also those who pinned their hopes on him as a politician capable of bringing the country together again.