By Editorial Staff:
(Contains graphic photos. Reader discretion advised).
The draconian ruler of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, was killed earlier today in a gun battle (?) with the Libyan fighters. Gaddafi had been on the run for the past many days. According to the National Post, “His killing, which came swiftly after his capture near Sirte, 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.”
Libyan fighters had captured Sirte, his hometown yesterday. Soon after cracking down on Gaddafi’s bunker – he was killed by the fighters. Gaddafi reportedly died of wounds suffered during capture near his hometown of Sirte on the morning of 20 October 2011.
As per The New York Times, “The battle for Surt was supposed to have been a postscript to the Libyan conflict, but for weeks soldiers loyal to Colonel Qaddafi, Libya’s deposed leader, fiercely defended the city, first weathering NATO airstrikes and then repeated assaults by anti-Qaddafi fighters. Former rebel leaders were caught off guard by the depth of the divisions in western Libya, where the colonel’s policy of playing favorites and stoking rivalries has resulted in a series of violent confrontations.”
Al Jazeera, citing Libyan television, said that the Libyan leader had been captured as fighters seized Surt on Thursday. But previous reports of the capture of high-level Qaddafi officials have proven false, and there was no confirmation from the interim government. Reuters reported that Colonel Qaddafi had been killed.
