Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi, ruler of Libya for 42 years, was killed by rebel forces yesterday morning as they took control of the final area under his control, Qaddafi’s hometown of Surt.
Qaddafi’s death brings closure to an eight month long revolt against the Libyan government that began in mid-February as part of the Arab Spring following the successful overthrow of governments in Tunisia and Egypt. After Qaddafi promised to crush the rebellion, the United Nations instituted a no-fly zone and sanctioned the use of force by NATO against Qaddafi’s troops to protect civilians.
Rebels have steadily made progress in capturing the country over the past six months, delivering major defeats to Qaddafi’s forces and taking over Tripoli, Libya’s capital, in late August. The National Transition Council, a coalition of anti-Qaddafi officials that makes up the ruling government of Libya, has been working to establish a transition to democratic rule.
Details of Qaddafi’s death vary; some sources claim that he was killed in a NATO airstrike while fleeing from Surt while others say he was killed in a firefight or captured and executed by rebel forces. Graphic videos on Al-Jazeera show Libyans dragging what is alleged to be a bloody, battered Qaddafi through the streets.
An autocratic and brutal dictator, Qaddafi took over Libya in 1969 from the ruling royal family through a coup and ruled until he was driven from Tripoli. Shortly after taking power, Qaddafi built himself a cult of personality, portraying himself as half-military man, half-nomad and issuing his “Green Book” to all of Libya which contained his wisdom and served as a replacement for the rule of law. He squandered the nation’s oil wealth on foreign ventures and military spending.
Known for his outlandish and provocative statements, Qaddafi maintained that his people loved him even as thousands paraded in the streets calling for his overthrow. This is best explained by a “who said it?” quiz from The Guardian that asks readers to distinguish whether certain phrases were said by an embattled Col. Qaddafi or drug-addled Charlie Sheen.
Qaddafi was a known sponsor of terrorism. He was most infamously known for sponsoring the bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people in 1988. After the 2003 Iraq War, Qaddafi gave up his ambitions for weapons of mass destruction leading to a relaxation of tensions between Libya and the West.
According to reports, celebrations are taking place all over Libya with citizens storming the streets, sounding the horns on their cars and waving the new Libyan flag.
President Obama, in a short speech from the White House Rose Garden this afternoon, called Qaddafi’s death a “momentous day for the Libyan people.” He offered the support of the United States and called on Libyans to build a democratic government as the ultimate afront to Qaddafi’s dictatorship. President Obama claimed that today had significant implications for other revolutions unfolding in the region, adding that Qaddafi’s death shows that “the rule of an iron fist inevitably comes to an end.”
Here is a timeline of Qaddafi’s rule by the New York Times.
