Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had often referred to his enemies as “vermin”. He frequently vowed to hunt them down like rats or die trying. At the end it was he who was hiding like “a rat” when he was finally cornered in a drain, a gold-plated pistol in his hand and pleading in desperation for his life.
After 42 years as Libya’s despotic leader, Gaddafi was killed in a dry field two miles west of his birthplace, where he was found cowering in a culvert from rebel fighters and NATO bombs.
In the video below he is shown being hauled off a pick up truck, bloodied and dying, by a mob of baying NTC fighters. Whilst the footage is grainy and shot on a mobile phone or similar device, it is certainly apparent that Colonel Gaddafi wasn’t quite dead when he was set upon by the jubilant soldiers. The grainy footage was first circulated by the rebels and then by the international media. It is worth noting that Gaddafi’s body has not yet been independently identified and has also reportedly been taken to Misrata
His death came after weeks of fierce fighting for Sirte, one of the last remaining pockets of resistance.
World leaders urged the NTC to carry through its promise to reform the country.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who had taken a leading role in Nato’s intervention, said it was “a day to remember all of Col Gaddafi’s victims”.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called it a “historic” moment, but warned: “The road ahead for Libya and its people will be difficult and full of challenges.”
Officials said the NTC intended to announce the “liberation of the country” in the coming days, allowing them to begin pushing through democratic reforms that will lead to elections.