The Fall of a Dictator

Unless you literally live under a rock, you would know that Muammar Gaddafi, the longtime dictator and oppressor of Libya, was killed today by rebel forces in his hometown of Sirte. Reports broke out early this morning, with unconfirmed pictures of an injured, but alive Gaddafi, in the hands of Libyan rebels. Soon, reports of his death were circulating, with a video taken from a cell phone showing Gaddafi's bloodied body(Warning: Graphic Footage). What was at first thought just another unconfirmed report, this news soon became verified, as the NTC announced that Muammar Gaddafi was in fact dead. This created an uproar of coverage, every new agency was all over it, reporting live, minute-by-minute coverage. I had never seen anything like it related to the Arab Spring. It was almost comforting seeing that this huge story was shown the attention it deserved here in the US.

Libyan rebels rejoice at the news that Col. Muammar Gaddafi is dead.

While this broke, I was at school. Unfortunately, I didn't know about it before school, which was when news first started to break out. Luckily, my friend told me about it, and I quickly got on it, looking at every mobile news app I had. To what did my wondering eyes did appear, but the most welcome news of the year! They had actually done it, they had killed Gaddafi! I was thrilled, and so were my friends. Lunch was an intense discussion about the affects and story surrounding his death, with new updates coming in every minute. I hadn't felt this relieved since Hosni Mubarak stepped down from power in Egypt!

The storm drain where Muammar Gaddafi hid from rebel fighters.

Here's what I've managed to piece together so far of what happened, from various news sites and sources: Muammar Gaddafi was in Sirte with a legion of loyalist fighters. They were in the western industrial side of Sirte, where intense fighting was breaking out. They started to flee, a convoy making its way out of the town. Not two miles outside of town, NATO planes and US drones fired missiles at the convoy, hitting and destroying some of the cars, scattering the rest. Muammar Gaddafi's son Muatassim was killed in the attack and his other son, Seif al-Islam was wounded and captured. Following this blast, Gaddafi and a small group of his loyalists took refuge in the drain pipes where he was later found. Having been in one of the cars initially hit, Muammar was at this point already injured. Then as rebel forces moved in to surround the convoy, a firefight broke out around where Gaddafi was hiding, being instigated when a loyalist came out and yelled for surrender, then promptly started shooting at the rebels when they emerged from behind cover. Gaddafi was wounded in the leg after this, and maybe in the stomach as well. Bleeding heavily and somewhat out of it, rebels found him in the drains and pulled him out. He even said to one fighter, "What have I done to you?"













At this point stories confuse each other. Some say that on of his own guards shot him in the chest at this point, although not immediately fatal. Wounded nonetheless, Gaddafi was captured by rebel forces, and soon taken to a pickup, where he was to be taken to Misrata to receive medical attention. Once again, stories clash when at this point, he dies suddenly. Some say he just collapsed to the ground, dead, others say it was an execution, with him being shot. At this point, the official story seems to be leaning towards the latter. (Which if it is true, may raise all kinds of hell)

Libyans celebrate Gaddafi's death

At this point, huge celebrations are being held across Libya, people finally rejoicing over the fact that they are now free from the fear and rule of Gaddafi. As this story develops, be sure to come back for the reactions and implications this will have on the world, and what the NTC has to do next in order to smoothly transition from the fighting stage, to the democratic stage. Until then, feel free to listen to the Libyan's ecstatic cries of Allahu Akbar!