Libya has picked a successor to Moussa Koussa as head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, six weeks after Mr Koussa took over as Foreign Minister. Libya experts had wondered whether Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi would let Mr Koussa keep his position as spymaster alongside his job as Foreign Minister, or would trim his influence by distancing him from the intelligence agencies.

The new spy chief is Abu Zaid Omar Dourdaa, a former Deputy Prime Minister and a staunch Gaddafi supporter, officials said.

The Foreign Intelligence Service has been one of Col. Gaddafi's main tools for spreading his influence in Africa and beyond.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.