Analysis: Libya rebels clean house after slaying of commander

People attend the burial of Libya's rebel military commander Abdel Fattah Younes in Benghazi July 29, 2011.

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Libya's rebel leader has sacked his cabinet to try to rebuild confidence in the opposition that was damaged by the murky killing of the rebels' own military commander.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, leader of the rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC), dismissed his 14-member executive committee on Monday after they were held responsible for blunders linked to the assassination of Abdel Fattah Younes.

While the Younes killing brought things to a head, Jalil is also seen as taking the opportunity to get rid of underperforming cabinet members and permit the reappointment of a more effective body.

Younes was killed on July 28 after being taken into custody by his own side for questioning. Opposition leaders have linked his killing to elements loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi but there has been widespread speculation that rivals in the opposition camp could have been responsible.

The killing came as the NTC was winning broader international recognition and it compounded concern among the rebels' Western backers, including the United States, who are frustrated by their lack of unity and nervous about the influence of Islamists.

Those backers have been telling the rebels to put their house in order.

"It was huge mismanagement," one analyst with knowledge of contacts between the rebels and their Western backers said of the killing of Younes.

The initial part of an investigation has been completed and the dismissal of the cabinet was an acknowledgement that there had been certain procedural errors and an acceptance of some responsibility in general terms, analysts said.

It was also aimed at highlighting a commitment to democracy and transparency, and demonstrating a readiness to act to fix problems.

"Hopefully, this will improve things," said Omar Sallabi, manager of a political research center at Garyounis University in the rebels' capital of Benghazi.

"They want to show that if there's something wrong, they'll change it," Sallabi said.

DEMAND FOR PROSECUTION

The NTC leader had been unhappy for some time with the performance of his executive, said Ashour Shamis, a London-based Libyan opposition activist. Then Younes was killed.

"This thing was the straw which broke the camel's back," Shamis told Reuters. "There was a lot of criticism of the council and this worried Mr. Abdel Jalil and drove him to dismiss the cabinet."

He said he hoped the new executive would be more professional. "In the past they chose people on an ad hoc basis ... There were some people who were not suitable for the jobs they were given."

Younes, a former interior minister under Gaddafi, defected to the rebels soon after the uprising began in February.

His relatives and supporters, including leaders of his large tribe, have demanded a full and transparent investigation into his killing.

They reiterated that demand after the dismissal of the cabinet, which included officials in charge of defense and interior affairs.

"We still insist on bringing those who are involved with the assassination, regardless of their rank or title, to prosecution," relatives of Younes said in a statement.

The opposition's prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, kept his post and will nominate a new line-up and submit it to the NTC for approval.

The sacking of the entire cabinet was a culturally acceptable way of getting rid of a few people without singling them out, one analyst said.

Many of the members are expected to come back to their old posts and foreign oil companies will be watching to see if Ali Tarhouni, in charge of the oil industry, makes a return.

Jibril himself has been spending a considerable amount of his time abroad, to the frustration of Western backers, and he will be expected to refocus his efforts on organizing the opposition.

"He has to come back to Benghazi and stay here and run things from here," NTC media director Shamsiddin Abdulmolah told Reuters late on Monday. The NTC has been recognized by about 30 countries.

(Editing by Christian Lowe and Giles Elgood)