Sir Abdul Aziz Shennib ( ''Sayyid Abdul Aziz Shennib''; 17 August 1936 – 2 July 2003) son of Sir Omar Faiek Shennib and brother to Lady Amal Shennib and Lady Ibtisam Shennib was a commander in the pre-1969 Libyan army. Sir Abdul Aziz was a graduate of the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

entering as a cadet in 1955. Upon his return to Libya, he entered the Royal Army in which he served for fifteen years until the Coup of 1969. As Commander of the Royal Army he was arrested in the first days after Qaddafi seizing power and imprisoned for four and a half years.

Foiled Assassination of King Hussein of Jordan and Political Asylum

Upon the release of Sir Abdul Aziz Shennib in 1974 he was appointed by

Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his assassination by Libyan rebel forces in 2011. He came to power ...

as ambassador to Jordan. The surprising appointment was "no gesture of reconciliation with the old regime". As Sir Abdul-Aziz had been at the

with King

Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until Death and state funeral of King Hussein, his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemites, Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hu ...

, he was strategically appointed by Gaddafi with express orders to assassinate his former classmate and close friend shortly after his arrival in Jordan. Sir Abdul Aziz accepted the appointment. However, upon Sir Shennib's arrival in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, he immediately informed King Hussein of Jordan of the plot against his life, defected from the Libyan regime, announcing his refusal to carry out the assassination. Sir Abdul Aziz Shennib and his immediate family were thereafter placed under the protection of the Jordanian monarchy as recompense for his loyalty and friendship. Under the protection of King Hussein, Sir Abdul Aziz joined the National Front for the Salvation of Libya, an expatriate Libyan opposition to Gaddafi. Later, at a press conference in Cairo, Sir Abdul Aziz Shennib revealed that Gaddafi had ordered the murder of Lebanese cleric

Musa al-Sadr Musa Sadr al-Din al-Sadr (; ; 4 June 1928 – disappeared 31 August 1978) was a Lebanese-Iranian Shia Muslim cleric, politician and revolutionary In Lebanon. He founded and revived many Lebanese Shia organizations, including schools, charities ...

, whose disappearance in August 1978 had, until his revelation, been the subject of speculation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shennib, Abdul-Aziz Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Libyan diplomats People from Derna, Libya Ambassadors of Libya to Jordan Ambassadors of Libya to Romania 1936 births 2003 deaths