The death of longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi helped solidify the National Transitional Council's power in Libya, but there is still a large amount of uncertainty about the circumstances surrounding how he was killed, what happened during the last battle in Sirte and what it all means for the future of Libya.
When Gadhafi's death was first reported, it came with a large amount of uncertainty.
Multiple scenarios emerged as to how the last minutes of his life played out, thanks to cell phone pictures and videos, many later uploaded to YouTube. Then, there were statements from officials from NATO, from within Libya and from the National Transitional Council about what happened.
And as the country prepares to move on, the international community searches for answers as to exactly what happened in the minutes after Gadhafi was captured.
What exactly do we know about how Gadhafi was captured?
We know that the events leading to Gadhafi's death began about 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Libya, according to a NATO official, when a convoy of loyalists made a break from a part of Sirte and headed west, trying to get out of the city.
Gadhafi had long been suspected of being holed up in his hometown, which was one of the only remaining regime strongholds.
U.S. drones and French fighter jets struck the convoy, splitting it up and forcing the loyalists to scurry away on foot. A NATO official said Gadhafi was in that convoy, though he was not hit.
Gadhafi fled with a handful of his men. The revolutionaries found him hiding in a drainage pipe.
Mahmoud Jibril, Executive Chairman of Libya's National Transitional Council, said that after Gadhafi was found, a gunbattle erupted between transitional council fighters and Gadhafi's supporters. His captors attempted to load him into a vehicle, leaving Gadhafi with a wound to his right arm.
Video out of Sirte showed what appeared to be a heavily wounded and bloodied Gadhafi being held up by NTC fighters as they took him toward a vehicle.
What happened after that is more murky.
What do we know about how Gadhafi died?
When Gadhafi was captured, he was, by all accounts, alive.
Several videos from the scene showed Gadhafi looking wounded and confused but alive and even walking as he was pulled toward a vehicle.
Jibril said Gadhafi was shot in the arm as he was dragged into a vehicle headed to Misrata, a two-and-a-half-hour trip.
But the autopsy report from the chief pathologist said Gadhafi died of a gunshot wound to the head.
So how did Gadhafi go from being captured to being shot in the head?
It depends on whom you ask, and there are many details that simply are not confirmed.
Leaders of Libya's interim government have said Gadhafi was killed in that crossfire after fighters captured him in Sirte.
But videos and pictures coming out of Libya lead to more questions about what shot may have killed the leader.
Some members of the international community had hoped there would be some more clarity from the autopsy report. But the doctor who conducted the examination would not disclose whether findings revealed that he suffered the wound in crossfire or at close range, a key question that has prompted the United Nations and international human rights groups to call for an investigation into the final moments of Gadhafi's life.
Jibril, the transitional prime minister, said that as the vehicle carrying the wounded Gadhafi drove away, more shooting erupted, and that was when Gadhafi was shot in the head.
Mohammed Sayeh, a senior member of the council, said that in the hail of gunfire, Gadhafi was shot in the feet and then in his head.
"I cannot tell you whether it was from far or near, but it was unintentional," he said. "No one decided to kill him or slaughter him. It would have been much better for us Libyans and the whole universe to capture him and take him to a court."
But in a new video from Reuters, a man standing next to an ambulance claims he killed the ousted leader, and another man claims he saw it happen. The group surrounding him applauds and hugs the self-described gunman.
There were no more specifics given about the fatal shot.
All that seems to be clear is that Gadhafi did not have a head wound when he was taken from the drainage pipe.
But when his body showed up at a hospital in Misrata, videos and photos showed a clear bullet wound.
And it is that disparity that has prompted calls for an investigation into the death. However, for some Libyans, how he died isn't so much the issue, Time.com reports. For them, knowing that he is gone is all that matters.
What was NATO's involvement in Gadhafi's death?
We know that NATO had eyes on Sirte, including aerial surveillance in areas where it had seen an uptick in conflict. Gadhafi's forces had been boxed into a particular area in Sirte, NATO said. When a large convoy left that area, the drones and fighter jets struck. It's also the moment when Gadhafi is believed to have fled.
For weeks, the revolutionaries had been on the forefront of the battle for Sirte, struggling to wrest control of the coastal city from the last vestiges of the old regime in brutal urban warfare. Thursday, when the fight was finally won, they could finally claim liberation for their nation.
In the wake of the death, and because of the strike on the convoy, NATO re-emphasized what it has been saying since the mission in Libya began: There was a mission to take out Gadhafi's regime and forces but not to assassinate him.
NATO launched an air and missile campaign in March, when pro-Gadhafi forces were advancing on a rebel stronghold in Libya, under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians. NATO's efforts have included strike sorties and airstrikes targeting Gadhafi's military resources.
NATO began to scale back operations in Libya after Gadhafi's death, with the preliminary end date of October 31, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday.
"We did what we said we would do, and now is the time for the Libyan people to take their destiny into their own hands," Rasmussen said.
So, what's next for Libya?
A long road stretches ahead for the Libyan people.
In addition to the investigation into Gadhafi's own death, human rights groups are calling for investigations after they discovered the bodies of 53 people, believed to be Gadhafi supporters, in a hotel that was under the control of anti-Gadhafi fighters.
"We found 53 decomposing bodies, apparently (Gadhafi) supporters, at an abandoned hotel in Sirte, and some had their hands bound behind their backs when they were shot," said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director of Human Rights Watch.
Officials with the National Transitional Council were not immediately available for comment. The report comes amid growing concerns about extrajudicial killings under Libya's new leadership.
As Libya closes one chapter in their storied history, it will now begin to try to shore up its future, including answering the concerns about extrajudicial killings.
It will also have to make the transition from a war-torn country into a new society and building or creating all of the foundations to do so.
"The formal timetable laid down by the NTC begins with the declaration of liberation," said Ian Martin, the U.N. special representative for Libya. "The clock begins ticking, and we'll be working with them to try to make their commitments feasible in practice."
That will begin with elections, which leaders have said will take place in the current months. The first vote will be for a National Congress that will draft a constitution. After that, parliamentary and presidential elections will be held, National Transitional Council leaders said.
There will also be the issue of what will happen with what some analysts believe to be as much as $150 billion in frozen assets that had been available to the Gadhafi regime around the world. Even before Gadhafi's death, the U.S. Treasury Department had started thawing $37 billion worth such assets to make them available to the new government in Tripoli.
And then there will be the state of Libya's oil production. It is estimated that 350,000 barrels of oil per day are being produced by Libya.
World leaders offered the new Libya words of encouragement tempered with caution.
"In the coming days, we will witness scenes of celebration, as well as grief for those who lost so much," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "Yet let us recognize, immediately, that this is only the end of the beginning. The road ahead for Libya and its people will be difficult and full of challenges."
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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To you impudently lie!
Here so Libyans lived at Kaddafi...
Gross national product per capita — 14 192$.
On each member of a family the state pays in a year 1 000$ grants.
The unemployment benefit — 730$.
… the Salary of the nurse — 1 000$.
For each newborn it is paid 7 000$.
Newly married it is given 64 000$ on apartment purchase.
On opening of personal business single material aid — 20 000$.
Large taxes and requisitions are forbidden.
Formation and medicine the free.
Formation and training abroad — at the expense of the state.
Chain store system for large families with the symbolical prices for the basic foodstuff.
For sale of products with the delayed working life — heavy fines and detention by divisions спецполиции.
Part of drugstores — with free holiday of medicines.
For a fake of medicines — the death penalty.
The rent — is absent.
The payment for the electric power for the population is absent.
Sale and the alcohol use are forbidden — "Prohibition".
Credits for car and apartment purchase — interest-free.
Realtor services are forbidden.
Purchase of the car to 50 % is paid by the state, to fighters of a national home guard — 65 %.
Gasoline costs more cheaply water. 1 liter of gasoline — 0,14$
gaddhaffi was first and foremost an old man.how they killed him is a barbarism.only americans can enjoy this event,it fits their minds.
That seat is it for only him.
Terrible3 = United States,United Kingdom, and France.
They might win the battles in this World, but They won't win the battle for Eternity !!!!
Judge from their actions and don't follow what they believed. (t)he Cross of the Killers !!!
FAIL FAIL FAIL
Horrible and disgusting videos. Its a shame on our society and humanity that we enjoy showing and seeing one human killing another and treating each other like animals. Unfortunately this is all provoked and supported by people who trumpet human rights. Where we are going as a human race?
Every human however bad allegdely deserves basic human rights. We are on a slippery slope, no rule of law and no human rights. Thank you Obama! Thank you Hillary!
Oh come on!! That disgusting behavior by a mob of thugs executing (with glee) a brutal dictator is a sad commentary on the human species no matter how you look at it. But the POTUS was not there, and neither was Hillary. They had neither the proximity or influence to make it happen or prevent it from happening. Those events were well beyond anyone's influence – so knock off the politics, will ya'?
Yes human rights is paramount. However, those who have no respect for them and are evil, (g)addafi had BILLIONS in power and he WAS the 99%, DO NOT deserve them. This kind of media allows those with power to see what will happen to them at the hands of THE PEOPLE. The people have the ultimate power and this kind of media shows it Succinctly.
I don't normally comment, but I was disgusted with the videos. He might have been a tyrant, but I do not endorse or support the killing of another human being by human hands. I am a Texan believe it or not.
A nation built on extreme brutality and lies............ Hmmm, Nice things coming. EXXON, et al will be paying big money to the PR company's to quell this insane country. It took a strong hand to hold these mad dogs in line and the UN and America unleashed them. What a fu–ed up situation...........even for EXXON
We all know what happened. Some young revolutionary thug with too much testosterone and too many bullets decided to be a big shot and put a bullet in Gadhafi's head. If you want to identify and prosecute this punk, fine – but his "how-did-he-die?" business is ridiculous.
You are exactly right.
To you don't tell all truth about Libya! You deceive, and you of it don't see?! And business not only in Libya. The NATO has already made set of attacks on other countries. The attack to Syria and Iran now prepares. And to you too will tell that there dictators and tyrants, but know that it not so! Or you (Americans) actually consider, what the whole world should you submit, and live under your laws?!
"Or you (Americans) actually consider, what the whole world should you submit, and live under your laws?" – If you knew anything at all about Americans, you would know how untrue that statement is. You have been brainwashed by others. Relax and try to live in peace for a change.
Simple WHO CARES. He deserved to die sooner. I do not understand why so many people are concerned over this. The guy is absolutely one of the worst pieces of garbage that ever walked the face of this planet and he is dead. I think we should throw a party but instead people are actually trying to analyze this. Move on people there are so many other things to spend your time talking about like how we are going to murder Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or any of the other terrorist leaders next.
Maybe because replacing one homicidal maniac with another group of homicidal maniacs seems like an absurd waste of time.....not too mention taxpayer dollars.
To John in Boston, then we just kill the next batch of homicidal maniacs and in fact we use it as a sort of bait for the garbage of the earth.
Targeted Assination...Obama is always trying to up one on Bush...............
How did he end up dead? He was shot in the head. Who the hell cares beyond that. The world is a better place without him. End of story.
Here's the short-term scenario that I believe:
The rebel leadership contacted their masters in the U.S., "We've located Gadhafi. His capture is certain."
Hillary replied, "I will arrive immediately to discuss it with you".
Hillary arrives "unexpectedly" in Libya.
Her discussion with the rebel leaders: "We want Gadhafi killed **immediately**. Do you understand? Immediately! If you do not understand, we will order NATO to 'accidentally' bomb your people a few times more."
Remember Vince Foster!!!
We are children of God and no one deserves this sort of treatment we have proven to the world that the human race is cancer on the earth. If we act like this than we aren't fit to live on this earth or rule over this earth. God loves us all equally sinners and saints alike. We should never take a life that we didn't create it is not our role to play God.
Apparently you haven't actually read the bible or any other religious text?? All of the sacred texts give commandments NOT TO KILL, and then are commanded a couple of chapters later, to SLAUGHTER entire cities, babies, women, children and the elderly) in their names. RELIGION has brought us to where the world is now. Can't you see that? Keep preaching, breeding,consuming and killing in your gods name and see where that gets you. When this world ends, IT ENDS. No ALIEN is coming to rescue you when its done, it's done. PERIOD.
And yes it is our role to play god. NO ONE ELSE IS UP FOR THE CHALLENGE.
Did Dick Cheney accidently shoot hom in the head while hunting?????
What right has the USA, to interfere with sovereign affairs of other states? Why you think that all over the world only dictators and terrorists?
I'm probably not the first to say that people that get shot in the head usually wind up dead. Not sure what the headline was going for.
he