Mansour Denies Visit to Libya to Prepare Declaration of Sadr’s Death

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour denied that his visit to Libya aims at setting up the required measures to announce officially the death of revered Lebanese Shiite Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Tuesday.

“Mansour denies what some media reports said about the case and would harm the investigations,” his press office said in a statement.

The statement noted that the FM’s visit to Libya is to continue follow up the case with the Libyan authorities.

Al-Liwaa newspaper reported earlier that Mansour’s visit’s is to declare later on the death of al-Sadr and his two companions.

The daily said that Mansour’s visit to the Libyan capital would be his last concerning the case of al-Sadr.

The FM, heading a Lebanese delegation, travelled to Libya on Sunday to discuss the issue.

The Iranian-born cleric arrived in Tripoli on August 25, 1978 during the rule of Moammar Gadhafi, with two companions Sheikh Mohammed Yacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddin. They were seen for the last time on August 31, 1978.

But the three men have not been heard of since and Tripoli had always maintained that the cleric had left Libya for Italy.

Sadr's trip to Libya was aimed at negotiating an end to Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.