The Sirte Massacres: Defense Minister Jabr

December 1, 2011
(incomplete)
last edits May 19, 2012

The Sirte Massacres

Here will eventually be gathered the best information on this pivotal episode. For the time being, the information will be in the comments section below, submitted by readers/contributors and myself as we see fit.

Jabr was captured along with Muammar Gaddafion October 20, around the same time the leader's son Mutassim was captured. Like those two, he soon wound up dead. The question of whether he was executed, as they clearly were, is obviously quite relevant.

Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr (Arabic: أبو بكر يونس جابر)
Wikipedia

Petri Krohn adds a video of minister Jaber, apparently, shortly after his death:

Peet 73 adds that Bakr was

the quite popular leader of the libyan army. Here he is during a visit at the Brega frontlines in June. I think he can be recognized at 0:55 in the video which Petri recovered now. Another video shows that he later on was exhibited in Misrata together with Muammar and Mutassim (after 1:54). A better foto from the same place is here. Anyway, I can't see signs of execution yet.

In honor of Minister Jabr, a poem written by an admirer, an unnamed prisoner from Sirte freed from a Misratan jail (his horrific account of the torture happening there is detailed with a link to the original here). He honed "some words which crossed my mind during my jail," written in his planner, composed along with other prisoners. His inspiration:

I am one of the leader’s beloved and I congratulate anyone who stood with him before after and during these events especially General Abu Baker Yuness Jaber, who was in Al Jufra and after it had fallen he could have escaped from there but he preferred to come to Sirte beside the leader which made some people to ask him with a stunned mind why he came to Sirte while he could have run away through the south to another country. 

The poem as translated with a couple minor edits:

Sirte has written its glory with golden words, 

the leader stood and his son stood fighting 

without giving their backs to the enemy 

'til they were martyred. 

A prayer to ALLAH to send them to his heaven 

a great salute to the Heroes who fought till the end 

and did not betray like Ashkal (the general who paved the way for NATO and its thugs to invade Tripoli) *

It's a nice eulogy, a little short on poetry in translation, but spoken in Arabic probably have a power and rhythm/etc... At any rate, he kept excellent notes and, presuming his story is true, he's done the world a great service and he made good use of his time so far in "Free Libya."