Al Jazeera report the death of Colonel Gaddafi
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has been killed in Sirte by forces loyal to the country’s new government. Rumours that Gaddafi had been captured or killed dominated the news for hours before Libya’s National Transitional Council confirmed his death at 15.32 GMT.
Before the NTC confirmation, Al Jazeera ran “Gaddafi killed” reports and exclusive footage of the body of the former Libyan leader. Although exact details still remain somewhat sketchy it is widely reported that Gaddafi was captured and wounded by rebel forces as he attempted to flee his hometown of Sirte during NATO raids. Sky News has played a video which appears to show Gaddafi’s body being dragged through the streets of Sirte. There is gruesome mobile phone image of a bloody (and possibly dead) Gaddafi currently doing the rounds on Twitter.
Few commentators have yet weighed in on what it mean for Libya, the region and the Arab Spring. But here are some key snap reactions:
Very big deal indeed. Ian Black, Middle East editor of The Guardian said that, “Gaddafi will be remembered as a slightly strange, flamboyant figure on the world stage. In the West we got into the habit of thinking that because he wore silly uniforms and was a bit of buffoon, then he was in some ways a fun figure. Libyans see him rather differently. He was to all intents and purposes a dictator … Most people will be glad and relieved that his is gone.” Black insisted that it is “a hugely important day for the Libyan revolution and will echo loudly across the Arab world. The death of Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for nearly 42 years, is a very big deal indeed.” Black said that Gaddafi’s death clears the way for a less messy Libyan future: “In a sense [the new government] will find it easier to deal with a Gaddafi who has been killed in combat, rather than a Gaddafi who would have been defiant in any court. The preferred outcome is the one that seems to have come about.”
David Cameron has greeted the news that Colonel Gaddafi has been killed by calling on people to remember “the many, many Libyans who died at the hands of this brutal dictator and his regime” reported Politics Home.
Questions which (already) need answers. At The New Yorker, Amy Davidson argued that there are some questions “one can ask already: If he was killed, how? As a prisoner or a fugitive? Was it a NATO strike, or was he shot in a gunfight? Was he captured alive, and then killed? (That matters, even for him.) Who is left in his circle, who has been captured, will they be tried, and by whom?” But, most of all, Davidson pondered what comes next? “One can celebrate a victory, and still be cautious of its character”, reminded Davidson, who voiced fears that there might now be a brutal attack on Sirte’s Gaddafi loyalists. “And we can’t forget our own role there. Libyans seized their country with their own hands and now will build their own future. But our planes and our bombs helped; we are involved … what is our responsibility for the settlement after the storm? Maybe there was golden pistol: there are, in war and peace, very few silver bullets.”
@ShababLibya, the Twitter account for the Libyan youth movement, is urging people in London to congregate on the Edgware Road, the most famous haunt for Arabs in the capital, at 6pm BST to celebrate the death of Gaddafi.
Awkward show trial avoided. Writing before the official confirmation of Gaddafi’s death, Daniel Knowles of The Daily Telegraph argued that Gaddafi’s death “will make some things easier between the Libyans and their Western allies. It solves the problem of where he will be tried, and by whom. If he is still alive, we have months of wrangling and undignified negotiation yet to come, and – notwithstanding the assurances above – the prospect of a Saddam Hussein-style show trial.”
