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.