Was this Gaddafi's grisly end? Picture claimed to be Libyan dictator after he was killed when rebels finally captured his last stronghold
- Conflicting reports say leader may have only been wounded
- Mobile phone image appears to show bloodied dictator
- 'Found in a hole' wearing military-style clothing, shouting 'Don't shoot'
- Revolutionary troops report early-morning convoy trying to flee
- Nato bombed compound in Sirte before capture was announced
Last updated at 2:12 PM on 20th October 2011
Slumped against the bloodied legs of a revolutionary fighter, this is the picture which Libyan rebels say confirms that deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi has been killed.
The former Libyan dictator was reportedly found cowering in a hole in the ground at the centre of Sirte, after rebels moved through the seaside town during their final assault.
Fighter Mohammed Al Bibi told reporters that the toppled tyrant had pleaded 'Don't shoot, don't shoot' as he attempted to surrender.
There were multiple reports in the Arab press that he died after suffering wounds to the legs.
Captured image: A mobile phone picture, purporting to be that of wounded leader Muammar Gaddafi, was circulated shortly after the news of his capture broke
Hiding hole: A fighter points to the concrete pipe where Gaddafi was reportedly found. Arabic graffiti in blue reads: 'This is the place of Gaddafi, the rat. God is the greatest'
Mobile phone footage, released shortly after the news of his capture broke, appears to show a bloodied Gaddafi being manhandled.
Rebels said he had been armed with a golden pistol when he was found and was wearing a khaki uniform.
National Transitional Council official Abdel Majid Mlegta said: 'He [Gaddafi] was also hit in his head. There was a lot of firing against his group and he died.'
He said Gaddafi was gunned down as he tried to escape, while another fighter said the dictator had been hit in the stomach at least once with a 9mm bullet.
Gaddafi and his family have been on the run since Nato and rebel forces started closing the net on Tripoli in mid-August.
Double celebration: Anti-Gaddafi fighters celebrate the fall of Sirte, but the news soon came that the leader himself had been captured
End of conflict: The fall of Sirte ends the last significant resistance by forces loyal to the deposed leader, and ends a two-month siege
The reports of Gaddafi's capture came on the same day that revolutionary forces said that they had taken control of Sirte - the leader's home town.
Initial reports from CNN and the National Transitional Council (NTC) said Gaddafi was in custody, while Al Jazeera reported that a ‘big fish’ had been caught but did not provide a name. Al Jazeera later joined Al-Arabiya in saying that Gaddafi had been killed, but did not provide any further information.
Sky News reported that Gaddafi had been wounded in both legs prior to his capture. He was wearing a military-style uniform.
All that's left: A lone revolutionary soldier fires into the air in celebration. Behind him lies the ruins of a town all but destroyed by fighting
Libya's transitional government forces have taken full control of the city - the last stronghold of Gaddafi loyalists. Gaddafi's presence there would explain why fighting had been so intense in the past few weeks.
Al Jazeera reported spontaneous celebration in cities like Benghazi and Tripoli, with people cheering and shouting, car horns sounding and small arms fire being heard.
After weeks of fierce fighting the NTC announced that it had 'taken control' of the city. But as revolutionary forces celebrated in the city, reports came of Gaddafi's capture.
Final broadcast: A still image of Muammar Gaddafi is displayed to accompany his audio message broadcast by Arabic news channels Al-Arouba and Arrai on September 1
The NTC said that, in the early hours of the morning, at least five cars carrying loyalist fighters attempted to escape the city.
A senior official with Libya's National Transitional Council told Reuters that Gaddafi was captured near his hometown of Sirte at dawn as he tried to flee in a convory that came under attack from NATO warplanes.
The official also said the head of Gaddafi's armed forces, Abu Bakr Younus Jabr, was killed during the capture of the former Libyan leader.
The NTC said Sirte's fall would be the point at which it would declare Libya liberated. The transitional authorities have said a new government would then be formed within a month, and the current administration would resign.
The U.S. State Department said today it could not confirm that Gaddafi had been captured.
White House officials were not immediately available to comment. The Pentagon also said it could not confirm the reports.
It is understood that Gaddafi’s son Saif has also been captured by rebels.
There were some reports that NATO had bombed a compound shortly before Gaddafi’s reported capture.
Gaddafi's killing is the most dramatic single development in the Arab Spring revolts that have unseated rulers in Egypt and Tunisia, and threatened the grip on power of the leaders of Syria and Yemen.
His capture followed within minutes of the fall of Sirte, a development that extinguished the last significant resistance by forces loyal to the deposed leader.
The capture of Sirte and the death of Gaddafi means Libya's ruling NTC should now begin the task of forging a new democratic system which it had said it would get under way after the city, built as a showpiece for Gaddafi's rule, had fallen.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2051361/Gaddafi-dead-Picture-Libya-dictator-captured-killed-Sirte.html#ixzz1bKVRbH8x
No comments:
Post a Comment