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One of the world's most eccentric and unpredictable leaders, Gaddafi dominated the world stage for decades.
Last Modified: 20 Oct 2011 14:28
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Gaddafi blamed the uprising against his rule on both al-Qaeda and a 'colonialist plot'
After 42 years at the helm of his sparsely populated, oil-rich
nation, Muammar Gaddafi - the Arab world's longest-ruling leader - lost
his grip on power after a six-month uprising.Since he lead a successful military coup in 1969, Gaddafi styled himself as Libya's "brother leader" and the "guide of the revolution", as an almost paternal figure looking after Libya's six million inhabitants. His relationship with the rest of the world was erratic. For years, Gaddafi was known in the West as a pariah, blamed for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jumbo jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. After years of denial, Libya acknowledged responsibility and agreed to pay up to $10m to relatives of victims; Gaddafi also declared he would dismantle all weapons of mass destruction. Those moves eased him back into the international community.
In February, one week into the uprising, Gaddafi vowed to die as a "martyr" on Libyan soil
In February, only weeks after street protests brought down the
leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, a rebellion against Gaddafi's rule started
in the country's east.Days after it began, Gaddafi gave a televised speech in which he vowed to hunt down protesters "inch by inch, room by room, home by home, alleyway by alleyway". The speech caused anger, helping to fuel the armed rebellion against him. Early days Gaddafi was born in 1942 in the coastal area of Sirte to nomadic parents. He attended Benghazi University to study geography, but dropped out to join the army. The deposed leader came to power in 1969 at the age of 27 after leading a bloodless coup against King Idris. After seizing power, he laid out a political philosophy based on pan-African, pan-Arab and anti-imperialist ideals, blended with aspects of Islam. While he permitted private control over small companies, the government controlled the larger ones. The Libyan leader was an admirer of the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser and his Arab socialist and nationalist ideology. As a strong member of the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War era, Gaddafi tried to mold the Libyan political system in a way which he said was an alternative to both capitalism and communism. Gaddafi played a prominent role in organising Arab opposition to the 1978 Camp David peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. Later shunned by a number of Arab states, partly on the basis of his views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Gaddafi's foreign policy focus shifted from the Arab world to Africa. The Libyan ruler argued for the creation of a "United States of Africa" - an idea first conceived by US pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey - in which the continent would include "a single African military force, a single currency and a single passport for Africans to move freely around the continent" He also supported membership among countries in other parts of the world whose citizens are mostly part of the African diaspora, including Haiti and Jamaica. The project did not pan out, although some of its ideas influenced the African Union, which was created in 2002. Gaddafi served as chairman of the African Union from 2009 to 2010. A 2008 meeting of African monarchs proclaimed Gaddafi the continent's "king of kings". Crushing dissent In 1977 he changed the country's name to the Great Socialist Popular Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah (State of the Masses) and allowed people to air their views at public congresses. Some critics defined his rule as a military dictatorship, accusing him of repressing civil society and ruthlessly crushing dissidence. The regime has imprisoned hundreds of people for violating the law and sentenced some to death, according to Human Rights Watch.  At the UN General Assembly in 2009, Gaddafi accused the body of being a terrorism group like al-Qaeda [EPA]Gaddafi maintained a position of anti-imperialism throughout his rule, supporting independence movements against colonial rule around the world. He allegedly gave material support to groups labelled "terrorists" by numerous wealthy countries, including Colombia's FARC and Northern Ireland's IRA. Libya's alleged involvement in the 1986 bombing of a Berlin nightclub in which two American soldiers were killed prompted US air attacks on Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 35 Libyans. Ronald Reagan, then the US president, called him a "mad dog". The 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie is possibly the most well-known and controversial incident associated internationally with Gaddafi. For many years, Gaddafi denied involvement, resulting in UN sanctions and Libya’s status as a pariah state. Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence agent, was convicted of planting the bomb. In 2003, Gaddafi's regime formally accepted responsibility for the attack and paid compensation to the families of those who died. Gaddafi also broke Libya's isolation from the West in the same year by relinquishing his entire inventory of weapons of mass destruction. In September 2004, George W Bush, the US president at the time, formally ended a US trade embargo as a result of Gaddafi's scrapping of the arms programme and taking responsibility for Lockerbie. The normalisation of relations with Western powers allowed the Libyan economy to grow, and the oil industry in particular benefited. However, Gaddafi and Lockerbie came back into the spotlight in 2009, when al-Megrahi was released from a Scottish prison on the grounds that he was terminally ill and was nearing death. He returned to Libya to a hero's welcome from Gaddafi and many Libyans, sparking condemnation by the US and the UK, among others. In September 2009, Gaddafi visited the US for his first appearance at the UN General Assembly. His speech was supposed to last 15 minutes, but ended up lasting over an hour. He tore up a copy of the UN charter, accused the Security Council of being a terrorist body similar to al-Qaeda, and demanded $7.7tn in compensation to be paid to Africa by its past colonial rulers. During a visit to Italy in August 2010, Gaddafi's invitation to hundreds of young women to convert to Islam overshadowed the two-day trip, which was intended to cement the growing ties between Tripoli and Rome. Libyan rebellion Inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, Libyans began to hold protests against his regime in the eastern city of Benghazi in February of this year. Gaddafi used military force to quell demonstrations, but the protests escalated into an all-out armed conflict, with NATO-led forces intervening. On June 27, the brutal actions of the Libyan government were referred to the International Criminal Court, which issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, one of his sons and his spy chief on charges of crimes against humanity. Gaddafi repeatedly blamed the unrest on al-Qaeda and a "colonialist plot". He called those opposed to him "rats", and alleged that they had been influenced by "hallucinogenic drugs". In his last address before rebels entered Tripoli, he accused "Western intelligence" of "working with al-Qaeda to destroy Libya". On October 20, an NTC official reported that Gaddafi had been killed near Sirte after fighters liberated the deposed leader's hometown. Footage obtained by Al Jazeera appeared to show Libyans dragging the body of their former leader through the streets. |
| Caputured Moments Before Qaddafi's Death |
Libya live: Muammar Gaddafi killed as Sirte falls
Live rolling coverage from Libya after Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is captured and killed following the fall of his hometown Sirte to revolutionary forces.
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Colonel Gaddafi Photo: REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
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• Colonel Muammar Gaddafi killed in hometown SIrte
• Former leader's body to be taken to Misurata
• Gaddafi's son Mutassim reported dead - NTC commander
• Ex-defence minister 'killed in attack on Gaddafi compound'
• David Cameron welcomes news of 'brutal dictator's death'
• Final pro-Gaddafi strongold Sitre falls to rebels
• Former leader's body to be taken to Misurata
• Gaddafi's son Mutassim reported dead - NTC commander
• Ex-defence minister 'killed in attack on Gaddafi compound'
• David Cameron welcomes news of 'brutal dictator's death'
• Final pro-Gaddafi strongold Sitre falls to rebels
Latest
17:25 The bodies of suspected Gaddfi loyalists lie outside the storm drains where Gadhafi was reportedly found in Sirte, AP report. The concrete walls of the drains are spray-painted with graffiti and the earth around them is dry.
17:20 It was reported earlier in a statement from Libya's charge
d'affairs in London (15:40) that several of Gaddafi's aides
travelling in his convoy at the time of the ambush were captured, it has now
been confirmed by the NTC that 17 have been taken by the forces and their
names will be made public tonight.
Forces fighting in Sirte shortly before its fall.
17:15 French President Nicolas Sarkozy has hailed the death as a
major step forward for the people of Libya and urged the country to pursue
democratic reforms. France took a leading role in the UN intervention in
Libya, strongly supporting a no-fly zone . He said:
The disappearance of Moamer Kadhafi is a major step forward in the battle
fought for more than eight months by the Libyan people to liberate
themselves from the dictatorial and violent regime imposed on them for more
than 40 years.
17:10 According to various reports from rebels, Gaddafi's last words before he was shot were: "What do you want, what do you want?"
16:55 The moment US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, learns the news of Gaddafi's death - on an aide's Blackberry. Almost the same look as the picture of her in the Washington control room when Bin Laden was shot dead by Navy Seals. She's heard saying "wow!"
16:50 Nato member states are to meet tomorrow to decide on ending the military campaign, the Guardian's Julian Borger reports. He just received this comment from a Nato official:
A military assessment of the current situation in Libya and a recommendation
for the wrapping up of the Nato operation is on its way to Nato HQ. This
will most likely prompt a special meeting of the North Atlantic Council
tomorrow to consider the recommendation and decide on the future of the
current mission.
16:47 The man on the right of the picture below is 20-year-old Mohammed el-Bibi, who is thought to have been the one who actually killed Gaddafi in Sirte. it is thought he could claim the £1million reward that had been put out on the despot's head.
Fighters hold what they claim to be the gold-plated gun belonging to Col Gaddafi - Getty
16:40 Another relative of a victim of the Lockerbie bombing, Kathy Tedeschi, whose first husband, Bill Daniels, was among the 270 people killed in the attack on PanAm Flight 103, said: "I hope he's in hell with Hitler".
16:35 Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, tells Sky News Gaddafi's death means an "opportunity has been lost" to find out the truth about the atrocity.
Speaking from Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, Dr Swire told Sky News: "There
is much still to be resolved about that issue and Gaddafi, whether he was
involved or not, might have been able to clear up a few points about that
and now that he is dead we may have lost an opportunity for getting nearer to the truth.
I would have loved to have seen Gaddafi appear in front of the International Criminal Court both to answer charges against his gross treatment of his own people and of citizens murdered abroad by his thugs.
But I would also have loved to have heard about what Gaddafi knew about the Lockerbie atrocity. But everybody looking at this situation should be glad that it probably hails an end to the gross violence in that country.
16:30 Our resident Middle East expert, Con Couglin, pulls no punches, saying Gaddafi deserved his death in a Libyan sewer – he had all the morality of a sewer rat. He writes:
I can't think of a better way for Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to meet his end
than to be gunned down in a Libyan sewer. It is a fitting end to the career
of a man who presided over one of the most murderous and violent regimes of
the modern age, and had all the morality of a sewer rat.
This was a man whose hands were drenched in the blood of his innocent victims. We in Britain will remember his role in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, which killed 270 people, and the stockpiles of Semtex explosives he happily provided to the IRA, which accounted for the deaths and maiming of hundreds more victims.
16:25 NTC latest: They confirm Gaddafi's son Mutassim is dead, and say his other son Saif is desperately trying to flee the city: "Saif al-Islam is trying to flee Sirte in a small convoy. Our fighters are encircling them." says one senior military official.
16:22 The National Transitional Council declare Gaddafi is dead:
16:20 UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon: This is only the end of the beginning. the future will be full of challenges. Now is the time for all Libyans to come together, combatants on all sides must lay down their weapons to achieve peace."
He also said a new UN mission to Libya is on the ground and ready to assist the people.
16:16 Jibril also called on neighbouring Algeria to hand over members of Gaddafi's family who fled there in August. Two of Gaddafi's sons, his daughter and his wife are known to be hiding out there.
16:15: Libya's de facto prime minister Mahmoud Jibril has just addressed at a news conference in Tripoli, where he confirmed Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years until August, had been killed after he was captured in Sirte.
"We confirm that all the evils, plus Gaddafi, have vanished from this beloved country. I think it's for the Libyans to realise that it's time to start a new Libya, a united Libya, one people, one future," he said.
16:10 Reuters are also reporting that Gaddafi's fifth son Mutassim was killed while trying to fight off captors, according to an NTC spokesman. It now appears that members of Gaddafi's loyal entourage were ambushed ealry this morning in SIrte, with the Libyan charge d'affairs in London suggesting up to 20 of the dictator's "senior supporters" have been captured by revolutionary forces.
16:00 Sirte erupts in celebration as the city is liberated and the dictator killed:
15:55 Labour leader Ed Miliband says the death of Gaddafi marks the end of a tragic period in Libyan history. He has just released this statement:
The death of Colonel Gaddafi marks the end of a tragic period in Libyan
history marked by brutality and repression.
I pay tribute to the Libyan people for standing up to the former regime and seeking to define their own democratic destiny. We should be proud of the support that our armed forces have given to that cause.
We should all hope that this day also marks the end of the armed conflict and the start of a period of stability where we see a transition to democratic government.
Britain should stand ready to continue to help the National Transitional Council as it seeks to improve economic and social conditions, ensure order and prepare for elections.
15:50 PM David Cameron, speaking outside No. 10, confirmed and welcomed the news of Gaddafi's death, saying:
I think today is a day to remember all of Colonel Gaddafi's victims, from
those who died in connection with the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, to
Yvonne Fletcher in a London street, and obviously all the victims of IRA
terrorism who died through their use of Libyan semtex. We should also
remember the many, many Libyans who died at the hands of this brutal
dictator and his regime.
People in Libya today have an even greater chance after this news of building themselves a strong and democratic future. I am proud of the role that Britain has played in helping them to bring that about and I pay tribute to the bravery of the Libyans who helped to liberate their country. We will help them, we will work with them and that is what I want to say today.
15:40 Libyan charge d'affair Mahmoud al-Naku is speaking outside the Libyan Embassy iin London, he says:
A black era has come to an end forever, the Libyan people are looking
forward to a promising future where they finally start building their free
democractic state for which they have fought for eight months now. Our
people have paid a high price, about 40,000 martyrs have given their lives.
We appreciate the help of the international community to get rid of Gaddafi
and his crimes. It is not important whether he faces trial or whether he is
alive or dead.
I can confirm he is dead, and now the NTC will move him to Misrata, where he killed many people. His end is in Misrata. They have captured between 17 and 20 of his senior supporters.
15:38 Channel 4 News's Jonathan Rugman is reporting that Gaddafi's son Saif has been killed:
@jrug Whitehall
source: Seif al-Islam Gaddafi (once his father's heir apparent) believed
killed in NATO airstrike near Bani Walid a few days ago.
15:35 Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, did not go so far has to confirm his death, but has said: "If they [the NTC] know that he is no longer a threat to them I think that will actually ease the transition process to a new government."
15:33 Al-Jazeera Arabic reporting Gaddafi's corpse is now in a mosque in Misrata.
15:32 Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril confirms Gaddafi has been killed. He told a news conference in the capital Tripoli: "We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Moammar Gadhafi has been killed."
15:30 WARNING: GRAPHIC: Video claiming to show the body of Colonel Gaddafi being kicked through the streets after reportedly being killed by revolutionary forces:
15:25 Al-Jazeera Arabic are running this photo which purports to show the dead body of Abu Bakar Yunis, Gaddafi's military chief who was reportedly killed in a strike today in SIrte.
15:22 Latest from the NTC: "They after taking Gaddafi's body to Misrata. The NTC will make a statement giving details of his death," says information minister Mahmoud Shammam.
15:15 Senior British Government sources have told the Telegraph's Security Correspondent Duncan Gardham that they believe Gaddafi is dead.
15:13 Sky News has translated the graffiti on the drain where Gaddafi was reportedly found. It says:
"This is the place where the rat Gaddafi was hiding", and: "Contemptible Gaddafi"
15:07 The clearest photo so far to emerge has been released by news agency Reuters, which purports to show Gaddafi heavily wounded after being shot by revolutionary fighters
15:05 Revolutionary forces can be seen chanting: "We did it! We did it!" as they become overcome with emotion, exchanging well-wishes, hugs and handshakes against a backdrop of intense celebratory gunfire.
"We finished Kadhafi and his people," shouts fighter Ali Urfulli. "We have taken revenge. Let him go to hell."
15:02 Senior US Senator John McCain has that the death of Gaddafi marks the end of "the first phase" of Libya's revolution and called for closer ties between Washington and Tripoli.
"The death of Moamer Kadhafi marks an end to the first phase of the Libyan revolution. While some final fighting continues, the Libyan people have liberated their country," the Republican lawmaker said in a statement.
14:50 Here is the latest photo purporting to show a dead or injured Gaddafi, obtained by Al-Jazeera.
14:44 Pan-Arab TV station Al-Arabiya cites a Libyan military leader saying several images of Gaddafi will be "broadcast shortly".
14:43 Government fighters in Sirte hold what they claim to be the gold-plated gun belonging to Col Gaddafi (reported at 13:02) The picture is reminicent of those which showed rebel forces posing with war booty from his compound in Tripoli a few months earlier.
.
14:34 Let's recap all reports of deaths and captures. Just to be clear, none have yet been independently verified:
Muammar Gaddafi: Dead - NTC officials
Mutassim Gaddafi, Col Gaddafi's fifth son: Dead - NTC officials
Moussa Ibrahim, Gaddafi's spokesman: Captured - NTC officials
Abu Bakr Yunis, former defence minister: Killed in Gaddafi's convoy - NTC officials
Ahmed Ibrahim, Gaddafi's cousin and adviser: Captured. - Mlegta.
Mansour Daw, Gaddafi aide: Captured. - Libya TV
14:33 Sky News is reporting that his best-known son, Saif, who was wrongly reported as captured earlier in the year, is still at large in the southern Libyan desert.
14:28 Mutassim, the fifth son of Gaddafi and a former Libyan Army officer, has been found dead in Sirte, according to NTC commander on AFP.
14:26 Here is the last recorded appearance of Gaddafi, who was seen on state TV playing chess:
14:25 Libyan NTC military official confirms photo of apparently dead man shown on TV networks was that of Muammar Gaddafi.
14:20 Our Middle East correspondent Richard Spencer says Al-Hurra TV (Freedom TV), the TV station set up in Qatar by rebels early on in the uprising, is reporting that the former Libyan leader's son Mutassim Gaddafi has been captured in Sirte.
It wouldn't be the first time that he has been reported taken, so it is worth
being cautious. But rebels always said he was there, and it would make
sense. Mutassim was the rival to Saif al-Islam as a future successor to his
father, and was his National Security Adviser. A photo of him meeting
Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, a couple of years back was among the
more memorable images of the Mafia-like appearances the family liked to don.
14:15 Our reporter in Sirte, Ben Farmer, is thought to be the only Western newspaper journalist who has been to the site Gaddafi was said to have been captured, has this new detail:
Colonel Gaddafi was finally cornered in a drain underneath a road in open
countryside to the west of the city of Sirte. Rebels said a column of
vehicles tried to punch out of an encirclement at dawn. They parked up
around 3-4kms west of the town, which was hit by a NATO airstrike. Gaddafi
and several bodyguards were then forced to take refuge in the drain where
they were then captured and taken away by revolutionary forces.
The underground drain where Gaddafi is believed to have been discovered. - AFP
14:03 NTC spokesman Abdel Hafez Ghoga says: "We announce to the world that Kadhafi has been killed at the hands of the revolution. It is an historic moment. It is the end of tyranny and dictatorship. Kadhafi has met his fate," he added.
14:00 PM David Cameron to give statement on reports of Gaddafi's death imminently.
13:57 The revolutionary fighter who says he saw the capture of Gaddafi tells Sky News he hit him with his shoe (one of the worst insults in the Islamic faith). He was reportedly shot once in the head and once in each leg.
13:54 NTC spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga also now confirming the former leader's death.
13:52 If reports are found to be true that Gaddafi was found in a hole underground in District 2 in his hometown of Sirte, the similarities to the capture of Saddam Hussein are unavoidable. The Iraqi dictator was discovered in a small, underground hole concealed next to farm buildings near the his own hometown of Tikrit. He had been hiding out for months with a handful of his most loyal aides.
13:47 If Gaddafi is dead, that solves the problem of the trial – but we may never learn the truth about Lockerbie and other crimes, writes Telegraph commentator Daniel Knowles:
If the reports of Gaddafi's death are true (and they may not be: the US
cannot even confirm his capture yet), it 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. On the
other hand, if he is alive we also stand a greater chance of finally
establishing the truth about Lockerbie, the killing of WPc Yvonne Fletcher
and many other crimes. Either way, the end of this man's brutal dictatorship
has arrived, and not before time.
13:44 Official confirmation from NATO on an attack by their aircraft on a pro-Gaddafi this morning: "At approximately 0830 local time (GMT+2) today, NATO aircraft struck two pro-Kadhafi forces military vehicles which were part of a larger group manoeuvring in the vicinity of Sirte," spokesman Colonel Roland Lavoie said in a statement.
13:38 Telegraph Middle East correspondent Richard Spencer says if the reports are true, Col Gaddafi has at least been true to his word: he always said he would die on Libyan soil.
Credit where credit is due: Gaddafi had chutzpah, as we knew, and showed
it by placing himself like Napoleon at Waterloo at the heart of the final
battle. He also had courage - a mad courage, perhaps, but it must have taken
something for a 27-year-old to seize power for himself back in 1969 and he
did not flinch at the end.
On the other hand, Gaddafi was also wrong about one thing. Like many dictators, he reassured himself, when he was under attack from western democratic leaders, that the political system they promoted ensured their own political demise. Whatever they said about him didn't matter since their electors would kick them out shortly anyway.
13:37 NTC official Mohamed Abel Kafi tells Reuters the body of Gaddafi is now being taken to a secret location in Misrata for security reasons. Again, not independently confirmed.
13:27 The following photograph purports to show Muammer Gaddafi badly wounded and has been obtained by AFP news agency. The image has been captured off a mobile phone camera by French photographer Philippe Desmazes for Getty.
13:26 Gaddafi's killing came swiftly after his capture near Sirte, Reuters reports:
He (Gaddafi) was also hit in his head. There was a lot of firing against his
group and he died.
13:25 A senior Obama administration official has said that US authorities were trying to confirm whether the deposed Libyan leader had been killed or captured.
13:18 Former state TV channel Al-Libiya has just run a broadcast which outright denied reports of the despot's death: "The reports peddled by the lackeys of NATO about the capture or death of the brother leader, Moamer Kadhafi, are baseless. Gaddafi is in good health."
13.14 Read a profile of the 'Mad Dog' dictator, who was reportedly killed in Sirte today:
Branded "mad dog" by Ronald Reagan, the outlandish antics,
flamboyant dress and bombastic pronouncements of the self-styled "Brother
Leader" at times made him seem a figure of ridicule.
During his travels abroad he was accompanied by a blonde Ukrainian nurse and insisted on staying in his Bedouin tent, protected by his team of glamorous, gun-toting female bodyguards.
13:12 NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta has told Reuters that Gaddafi was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn this morning as he tried to flee in a convoy which NATO warplanes attacked.
"He was also hit in his head," the official said. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died."
13:11 NTC Leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil is due to address the Libyan nation "shortly", according to Free Libya TV station.
13:07 The Telegraph's foreign correspondent, Ben Farmer - the only UK newspaper journalist in Sirte, describes the celebrations among NTC soldiers as the final Gaddafi stronghold is taken.
13:02 A soldier who said he captured Gaddafi himself has told a BBC the colonel shouted "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" after he was discovered hiding in a hole in District 2 in Sirte. The soldier reportedly brandished Gaddafi's golden pistol after his capture.
12:58 Here is a timeline of the Libyan uprising, from the arrest of human rights activist Fethi Tarbel starting a riot in Benghazi on Feb 15 through to reports today that Gaddafi has been killed after Sirte was liberated.
12:56 A pro-Gaddafi television website denied reports that the strongman had been killed or captured. Al-Libiya television website said:
The reports peddled by the lackeys of Nato about the capture or death of the
brother leader, Muammar Gaddafi, is baseless.
12:53 Reuters reporting Gaddafi dies of wounds suffered in capture near Sirte - senior NTC military official.
12:51 According to a Libyan commander, Gaddafi's mouthpiece and face of the regime Moussa Ibrahim, has also been captured.
12:49 Ben Farmer in Sirte reports:
Scenes of wild jubilation in the centre of Sirte at news that Gaddafi has been
captured. People are firing in the air.
Gaddafi is reportedly being taken to Misurata in a convoy. Abu Bakr Yunis, defence minister has apparently been killed and Gaddafi's chief of security forces since the start of the uprising has been badly wounded.
12:48 Libyan revolutionary forces aren't waiting for confirmation of Gaddafi's capture before they start celebrating in Sirte following the fall of the city:
12:48 Russian Presidet Medvedev has said "Gaddafi's fate should be decided by Libyan people."
12:50 Pro-Gaddafi TV channels denying the leader's death.
12:45 Non-NTC sources have confirmed to Sky News that Gaddafi has been captured and still alive, but in a critical condition.
12:41 Al Arabiya sources saying the "dead body of Gaddafi" is being taken to Misurata by revoluntionary forces. It is important to remember, all reports so far are not confirmed independently, and deaths of members of the former leader's family have previously been wrong.
12:35 A Libyan government fighter is being quoted by Reuters as saying Gaddafi was found hiding in a hole in Sirte, shouting "Don't shoot, don't shoot".
12:35 There are wild scenes of celebration in Sirte, however, no independent confirmation has yet been given.
12:30 NTC sources who claim to have seen the wounded Gaddafi say he was captured wearing a Khaki uniform and a turban.
12:28 If the rumours are true, it would confirm the theory that Gaddafi has been hiding out near his hometown of Sirte for the last few weeks even as fighting intensified in the battle to take the city.
12:27 Sky News reporting that the former leader of Libya has been taken by revoluntionary forces and wounded in both legs.
12:25 Foreign news agency AFP are also reporting that Gaddafi has been captured, according to the an NTC commander and Libya TV.
Libyan fighters celebrate on the streets of Sirte
12:06 Reports that Gaddafi's defence minister Abu Bakr Yunis has been killed.
11:20 Ben Farmer on the scenes of celebration in the centre of Sirte:
Civilians, whose city has been under siege since Gaddafi was removed from
power at the end of August, were making their way to the centre to
celebrate. The Telegraph, witnessing scenes in the centre of the city siad
there were scens of relief, jubilation and intense celebratory gunfire among
National Transitional Council (NTC) forces.
The new national flag was raised above a large utilities building in the Mediterranean city, which had been under siege for nearly two months.
11:00 Col Yunus Al Abdali, head of operations in the eastern half of the city says:
Sirte has been liberated. There are no Gaddafi forces any more.
We are now chasing his fighters who are trying to run away.
10:45 Ben Farmer, who is in the centre of Sirte reports:
In the early hours of the morning, at least five cars carrying loyalist
fighters attempted to escape the city, but most were rounded up and killed
by revolutionaries.
Libyan rebels then moved into the city's Number Two residential neighbourhood, which was the last pocket of pro-Gaddafi resistance left in the war-torn country.
10:30 (11.30 Libya) Welcome to our live coverage of the fall of the Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte
Past Libya live coverage
• Libya: September 9 as it happened
• Libya: September 8 as it happened
• Libya: September 7 as it happened
• Libya: September 6 as it happened
• Libya: September 5 as it happened
• Libya September 2: as it happened
• Libya: September 1 as it happened
• Libya: August 31 as it happened
• Libya: August 30 as it happened
• Libya, August 29 as it happened
• Libya, August 28 as it happened
• Libya, August 27 as it happened
• Libya, August 26 as it happened
• Libya, August 25 as it happened
• Libya, August 24 as it happened
• Libya, August 23: fall of Gaddafi's Tripoli compound
• Libya, August 22: endgame for Gaddafi
• Libya, August 21: fall of Tripoli
The disappearance of Moamer Kadhafi is a major step forward in the battle
fought for more than eight months by the Libyan people to liberate
themselves from the dictatorial and violent regime imposed on them for more
than 40 years.
17:10 According to various reports from rebels, Gaddafi's last words before he was shot were: "What do you want, what do you want?"
16:55 The moment US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, learns the news of Gaddafi's death - on an aide's Blackberry. Almost the same look as the picture of her in the Washington control room when Bin Laden was shot dead by Navy Seals. She's heard saying "wow!"
16:50 Nato member states are to meet tomorrow to decide on ending the military campaign, the Guardian's Julian Borger reports. He just received this comment from a Nato official:
A military assessment of the current situation in Libya and a recommendation
for the wrapping up of the Nato operation is on its way to Nato HQ. This
will most likely prompt a special meeting of the North Atlantic Council
tomorrow to consider the recommendation and decide on the future of the
current mission.
16:47 The man on the right of the picture below is 20-year-old Mohammed el-Bibi, who is thought to have been the one who actually killed Gaddafi in Sirte. it is thought he could claim the £1million reward that had been put out on the despot's head.
Fighters hold what they claim to be the gold-plated gun belonging to Col Gaddafi - Getty
16:40 Another relative of a victim of the Lockerbie bombing, Kathy Tedeschi, whose first husband, Bill Daniels, was among the 270 people killed in the attack on PanAm Flight 103, said: "I hope he's in hell with Hitler".
16:35 Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, tells Sky News Gaddafi's death means an "opportunity has been lost" to find out the truth about the atrocity.
Speaking from Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, Dr Swire told Sky News: "There
is much still to be resolved about that issue and Gaddafi, whether he was
involved or not, might have been able to clear up a few points about that
and now that he is dead we may have lost an opportunity for getting nearer to the truth.
I would have loved to have seen Gaddafi appear in front of the International Criminal Court both to answer charges against his gross treatment of his own people and of citizens murdered abroad by his thugs.
But I would also have loved to have heard about what Gaddafi knew about the Lockerbie atrocity. But everybody looking at this situation should be glad that it probably hails an end to the gross violence in that country.
16:30 Our resident Middle East expert, Con Couglin, pulls no punches, saying Gaddafi deserved his death in a Libyan sewer – he had all the morality of a sewer rat. He writes:
I can't think of a better way for Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to meet his end
than to be gunned down in a Libyan sewer. It is a fitting end to the career
of a man who presided over one of the most murderous and violent regimes of
the modern age, and had all the morality of a sewer rat.
This was a man whose hands were drenched in the blood of his innocent victims. We in Britain will remember his role in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, which killed 270 people, and the stockpiles of Semtex explosives he happily provided to the IRA, which accounted for the deaths and maiming of hundreds more victims.
16:25 NTC latest: They confirm Gaddafi's son Mutassim is dead, and say his other son Saif is desperately trying to flee the city: "Saif al-Islam is trying to flee Sirte in a small convoy. Our fighters are encircling them." says one senior military official.
16:22 The National Transitional Council declare Gaddafi is dead:
16:20 UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon: This is only the end of the beginning. the future will be full of challenges. Now is the time for all Libyans to come together, combatants on all sides must lay down their weapons to achieve peace."
He also said a new UN mission to Libya is on the ground and ready to assist the people.
16:16 Jibril also called on neighbouring Algeria to hand over members of Gaddafi's family who fled there in August. Two of Gaddafi's sons, his daughter and his wife are known to be hiding out there.
16:15: Libya's de facto prime minister Mahmoud Jibril has just addressed at a news conference in Tripoli, where he confirmed Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years until August, had been killed after he was captured in Sirte.
"We confirm that all the evils, plus Gaddafi, have vanished from this beloved country. I think it's for the Libyans to realise that it's time to start a new Libya, a united Libya, one people, one future," he said.
16:10 Reuters are also reporting that Gaddafi's fifth son Mutassim was killed while trying to fight off captors, according to an NTC spokesman. It now appears that members of Gaddafi's loyal entourage were ambushed ealry this morning in SIrte, with the Libyan charge d'affairs in London suggesting up to 20 of the dictator's "senior supporters" have been captured by revolutionary forces.
16:00 Sirte erupts in celebration as the city is liberated and the dictator killed:
15:55 Labour leader Ed Miliband says the death of Gaddafi marks the end of a tragic period in Libyan history. He has just released this statement:
The death of Colonel Gaddafi marks the end of a tragic period in Libyan
history marked by brutality and repression.
I pay tribute to the Libyan people for standing up to the former regime and seeking to define their own democratic destiny. We should be proud of the support that our armed forces have given to that cause.
We should all hope that this day also marks the end of the armed conflict and the start of a period of stability where we see a transition to democratic government.
Britain should stand ready to continue to help the National Transitional Council as it seeks to improve economic and social conditions, ensure order and prepare for elections.
15:50 PM David Cameron, speaking outside No. 10, confirmed and welcomed the news of Gaddafi's death, saying:
I think today is a day to remember all of Colonel Gaddafi's victims, from
those who died in connection with the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, to
Yvonne Fletcher in a London street, and obviously all the victims of IRA
terrorism who died through their use of Libyan semtex. We should also
remember the many, many Libyans who died at the hands of this brutal
dictator and his regime.
People in Libya today have an even greater chance after this news of building themselves a strong and democratic future. I am proud of the role that Britain has played in helping them to bring that about and I pay tribute to the bravery of the Libyans who helped to liberate their country. We will help them, we will work with them and that is what I want to say today.
15:40 Libyan charge d'affair Mahmoud al-Naku is speaking outside the Libyan Embassy iin London, he says:
A black era has come to an end forever, the Libyan people are looking
forward to a promising future where they finally start building their free
democractic state for which they have fought for eight months now. Our
people have paid a high price, about 40,000 martyrs have given their lives.
We appreciate the help of the international community to get rid of Gaddafi
and his crimes. It is not important whether he faces trial or whether he is
alive or dead.
I can confirm he is dead, and now the NTC will move him to Misrata, where he killed many people. His end is in Misrata. They have captured between 17 and 20 of his senior supporters.
15:38 Channel 4 News's Jonathan Rugman is reporting that Gaddafi's son Saif has been killed:
@jrug Whitehall
source: Seif al-Islam Gaddafi (once his father's heir apparent) believed
killed in NATO airstrike near Bani Walid a few days ago.
15:35 Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, did not go so far has to confirm his death, but has said: "If they [the NTC] know that he is no longer a threat to them I think that will actually ease the transition process to a new government."
15:33 Al-Jazeera Arabic reporting Gaddafi's corpse is now in a mosque in Misrata.
15:32 Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril confirms Gaddafi has been killed. He told a news conference in the capital Tripoli: "We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Moammar Gadhafi has been killed."
15:30 WARNING: GRAPHIC: Video claiming to show the body of Colonel Gaddafi being kicked through the streets after reportedly being killed by revolutionary forces:
15:25 Al-Jazeera Arabic are running this photo which purports to show the dead body of Abu Bakar Yunis, Gaddafi's military chief who was reportedly killed in a strike today in SIrte.
15:22 Latest from the NTC: "They after taking Gaddafi's body to Misrata. The NTC will make a statement giving details of his death," says information minister Mahmoud Shammam.
15:15 Senior British Government sources have told the Telegraph's Security Correspondent Duncan Gardham that they believe Gaddafi is dead.
15:13 Sky News has translated the graffiti on the drain where Gaddafi was reportedly found. It says:
"This is the place where the rat Gaddafi was hiding", and: "Contemptible Gaddafi"
15:07 The clearest photo so far to emerge has been released by news agency Reuters, which purports to show Gaddafi heavily wounded after being shot by revolutionary fighters
15:05 Revolutionary forces can be seen chanting: "We did it! We did it!" as they become overcome with emotion, exchanging well-wishes, hugs and handshakes against a backdrop of intense celebratory gunfire.
"We finished Kadhafi and his people," shouts fighter Ali Urfulli. "We have taken revenge. Let him go to hell."
15:02 Senior US Senator John McCain has that the death of Gaddafi marks the end of "the first phase" of Libya's revolution and called for closer ties between Washington and Tripoli.
"The death of Moamer Kadhafi marks an end to the first phase of the Libyan revolution. While some final fighting continues, the Libyan people have liberated their country," the Republican lawmaker said in a statement.
14:50 Here is the latest photo purporting to show a dead or injured Gaddafi, obtained by Al-Jazeera.
14:44 Pan-Arab TV station Al-Arabiya cites a Libyan military leader saying several images of Gaddafi will be "broadcast shortly".
14:43 Government fighters in Sirte hold what they claim to be the gold-plated gun belonging to Col Gaddafi (reported at 13:02) The picture is reminicent of those which showed rebel forces posing with war booty from his compound in Tripoli a few months earlier.
.
14:34 Let's recap all reports of deaths and captures. Just to be clear, none have yet been independently verified:
Muammar Gaddafi: Dead - NTC officials
Mutassim Gaddafi, Col Gaddafi's fifth son: Dead - NTC officials
Moussa Ibrahim, Gaddafi's spokesman: Captured - NTC officials
Abu Bakr Yunis, former defence minister: Killed in Gaddafi's convoy - NTC officials
Ahmed Ibrahim, Gaddafi's cousin and adviser: Captured. - Mlegta.
Mansour Daw, Gaddafi aide: Captured. - Libya TV
14:33 Sky News is reporting that his best-known son, Saif, who was wrongly reported as captured earlier in the year, is still at large in the southern Libyan desert.
14:28 Mutassim, the fifth son of Gaddafi and a former Libyan Army officer, has been found dead in Sirte, according to NTC commander on AFP.
14:26 Here is the last recorded appearance of Gaddafi, who was seen on state TV playing chess:
14:25 Libyan NTC military official confirms photo of apparently dead man shown on TV networks was that of Muammar Gaddafi.
14:20 Our Middle East correspondent Richard Spencer says Al-Hurra TV (Freedom TV), the TV station set up in Qatar by rebels early on in the uprising, is reporting that the former Libyan leader's son Mutassim Gaddafi has been captured in Sirte.
It wouldn't be the first time that he has been reported taken, so it is worth
being cautious. But rebels always said he was there, and it would make
sense. Mutassim was the rival to Saif al-Islam as a future successor to his
father, and was his National Security Adviser. A photo of him meeting
Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, a couple of years back was among the
more memorable images of the Mafia-like appearances the family liked to don.
14:15 Our reporter in Sirte, Ben Farmer, is thought to be the only Western newspaper journalist who has been to the site Gaddafi was said to have been captured, has this new detail:
Colonel Gaddafi was finally cornered in a drain underneath a road in open
countryside to the west of the city of Sirte. Rebels said a column of
vehicles tried to punch out of an encirclement at dawn. They parked up
around 3-4kms west of the town, which was hit by a NATO airstrike. Gaddafi
and several bodyguards were then forced to take refuge in the drain where
they were then captured and taken away by revolutionary forces.
The underground drain where Gaddafi is believed to have been discovered. - AFP
14:03 NTC spokesman Abdel Hafez Ghoga says: "We announce to the world that Kadhafi has been killed at the hands of the revolution. It is an historic moment. It is the end of tyranny and dictatorship. Kadhafi has met his fate," he added.
14:00 PM David Cameron to give statement on reports of Gaddafi's death imminently.
13:57 The revolutionary fighter who says he saw the capture of Gaddafi tells Sky News he hit him with his shoe (one of the worst insults in the Islamic faith). He was reportedly shot once in the head and once in each leg.
13:54 NTC spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga also now confirming the former leader's death.
13:52 If reports are found to be true that Gaddafi was found in a hole underground in District 2 in his hometown of Sirte, the similarities to the capture of Saddam Hussein are unavoidable. The Iraqi dictator was discovered in a small, underground hole concealed next to farm buildings near the his own hometown of Tikrit. He had been hiding out for months with a handful of his most loyal aides.
13:47 If Gaddafi is dead, that solves the problem of the trial – but we may never learn the truth about Lockerbie and other crimes, writes Telegraph commentator Daniel Knowles:
If the reports of Gaddafi's death are true (and they may not be: the US
cannot even confirm his capture yet), it 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. On the
other hand, if he is alive we also stand a greater chance of finally
establishing the truth about Lockerbie, the killing of WPc Yvonne Fletcher
and many other crimes. Either way, the end of this man's brutal dictatorship
has arrived, and not before time.
13:44 Official confirmation from NATO on an attack by their aircraft on a pro-Gaddafi this morning: "At approximately 0830 local time (GMT+2) today, NATO aircraft struck two pro-Kadhafi forces military vehicles which were part of a larger group manoeuvring in the vicinity of Sirte," spokesman Colonel Roland Lavoie said in a statement.
13:38 Telegraph Middle East correspondent Richard Spencer says if the reports are true, Col Gaddafi has at least been true to his word: he always said he would die on Libyan soil.
Credit where credit is due: Gaddafi had chutzpah, as we knew, and showed
it by placing himself like Napoleon at Waterloo at the heart of the final
battle. He also had courage - a mad courage, perhaps, but it must have taken
something for a 27-year-old to seize power for himself back in 1969 and he
did not flinch at the end.
On the other hand, Gaddafi was also wrong about one thing. Like many dictators, he reassured himself, when he was under attack from western democratic leaders, that the political system they promoted ensured their own political demise. Whatever they said about him didn't matter since their electors would kick them out shortly anyway.
13:37 NTC official Mohamed Abel Kafi tells Reuters the body of Gaddafi is now being taken to a secret location in Misrata for security reasons. Again, not independently confirmed.
13:27 The following photograph purports to show Muammer Gaddafi badly wounded and has been obtained by AFP news agency. The image has been captured off a mobile phone camera by French photographer Philippe Desmazes for Getty.
13:26 Gaddafi's killing came swiftly after his capture near Sirte, Reuters reports:
He (Gaddafi) was also hit in his head. There was a lot of firing against his
group and he died.
13:25 A senior Obama administration official has said that US authorities were trying to confirm whether the deposed Libyan leader had been killed or captured.
13:18 Former state TV channel Al-Libiya has just run a broadcast which outright denied reports of the despot's death: "The reports peddled by the lackeys of NATO about the capture or death of the brother leader, Moamer Kadhafi, are baseless. Gaddafi is in good health."
13.14 Read a profile of the 'Mad Dog' dictator, who was reportedly killed in Sirte today:
Branded "mad dog" by Ronald Reagan, the outlandish antics,
flamboyant dress and bombastic pronouncements of the self-styled "Brother
Leader" at times made him seem a figure of ridicule.
During his travels abroad he was accompanied by a blonde Ukrainian nurse and insisted on staying in his Bedouin tent, protected by his team of glamorous, gun-toting female bodyguards.
13:12 NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta has told Reuters that Gaddafi was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn this morning as he tried to flee in a convoy which NATO warplanes attacked.
"He was also hit in his head," the official said. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died."
13:11 NTC Leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil is due to address the Libyan nation "shortly", according to Free Libya TV station.
13:07 The Telegraph's foreign correspondent, Ben Farmer - the only UK newspaper journalist in Sirte, describes the celebrations among NTC soldiers as the final Gaddafi stronghold is taken.
13:02 A soldier who said he captured Gaddafi himself has told a BBC the colonel shouted "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" after he was discovered hiding in a hole in District 2 in Sirte. The soldier reportedly brandished Gaddafi's golden pistol after his capture.
12:58 Here is a timeline of the Libyan uprising, from the arrest of human rights activist Fethi Tarbel starting a riot in Benghazi on Feb 15 through to reports today that Gaddafi has been killed after Sirte was liberated.
12:56 A pro-Gaddafi television website denied reports that the strongman had been killed or captured. Al-Libiya television website said:
The reports peddled by the lackeys of Nato about the capture or death of the
brother leader, Muammar Gaddafi, is baseless.
12:53 Reuters reporting Gaddafi dies of wounds suffered in capture near Sirte - senior NTC military official.
12:51 According to a Libyan commander, Gaddafi's mouthpiece and face of the regime Moussa Ibrahim, has also been captured.
12:49 Ben Farmer in Sirte reports:
Scenes of wild jubilation in the centre of Sirte at news that Gaddafi has been
captured. People are firing in the air.
Gaddafi is reportedly being taken to Misurata in a convoy. Abu Bakr Yunis, defence minister has apparently been killed and Gaddafi's chief of security forces since the start of the uprising has been badly wounded.
12:48 Libyan revolutionary forces aren't waiting for confirmation of Gaddafi's capture before they start celebrating in Sirte following the fall of the city:
12:48 Russian Presidet Medvedev has said "Gaddafi's fate should be decided by Libyan people."
12:50 Pro-Gaddafi TV channels denying the leader's death.
12:45 Non-NTC sources have confirmed to Sky News that Gaddafi has been captured and still alive, but in a critical condition.
12:41 Al Arabiya sources saying the "dead body of Gaddafi" is being taken to Misurata by revoluntionary forces. It is important to remember, all reports so far are not confirmed independently, and deaths of members of the former leader's family have previously been wrong.
12:35 A Libyan government fighter is being quoted by Reuters as saying Gaddafi was found hiding in a hole in Sirte, shouting "Don't shoot, don't shoot".
12:35 There are wild scenes of celebration in Sirte, however, no independent confirmation has yet been given.
12:30 NTC sources who claim to have seen the wounded Gaddafi say he was captured wearing a Khaki uniform and a turban.
12:28 If the rumours are true, it would confirm the theory that Gaddafi has been hiding out near his hometown of Sirte for the last few weeks even as fighting intensified in the battle to take the city.
12:27 Sky News reporting that the former leader of Libya has been taken by revoluntionary forces and wounded in both legs.
12:25 Foreign news agency AFP are also reporting that Gaddafi has been captured, according to the an NTC commander and Libya TV.
Libyan fighters celebrate on the streets of Sirte
12:06 Reports that Gaddafi's defence minister Abu Bakr Yunis has been killed.
11:20 Ben Farmer on the scenes of celebration in the centre of Sirte:
Civilians, whose city has been under siege since Gaddafi was removed from
power at the end of August, were making their way to the centre to
celebrate. The Telegraph, witnessing scenes in the centre of the city siad
there were scens of relief, jubilation and intense celebratory gunfire among
National Transitional Council (NTC) forces.
The new national flag was raised above a large utilities building in the Mediterranean city, which had been under siege for nearly two months.
11:00 Col Yunus Al Abdali, head of operations in the eastern half of the city says:
Sirte has been liberated. There are no Gaddafi forces any more.
We are now chasing his fighters who are trying to run away.
10:45 Ben Farmer, who is in the centre of Sirte reports:
In the early hours of the morning, at least five cars carrying loyalist
fighters attempted to escape the city, but most were rounded up and killed
by revolutionaries.
Libyan rebels then moved into the city's Number Two residential neighbourhood, which was the last pocket of pro-Gaddafi resistance left in the war-torn country.
10:30 (11.30 Libya) Welcome to our live coverage of the fall of the Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte
Past Libya live coverage
• Libya: September 9 as it happened
• Libya: September 8 as it happened
• Libya: September 7 as it happened
• Libya: September 6 as it happened
• Libya: September 5 as it happened
• Libya September 2: as it happened
• Libya: September 1 as it happened
• Libya: August 31 as it happened
• Libya: August 30 as it happened
• Libya, August 29 as it happened
• Libya, August 28 as it happened
• Libya, August 27 as it happened
• Libya, August 26 as it happened
• Libya, August 25 as it happened
• Libya, August 24 as it happened
• Libya, August 23: fall of Gaddafi's Tripoli compound
• Libya, August 22: endgame for Gaddafi
• Libya, August 21: fall of Tripoli
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