The day after the death of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Libya looks forward to a new future. Yet questions remain as to the final moments of the tyrant's life.
Gaddafi, who was captured alive by troops of the National Transitional Council (NTC) following a Nato air strike on a convoy outside his hometown of Sirte, was dragged through the streets, pushed and pulled by his jubilant captors.
"Don't shoot, don't shoot," he pleaded. Dazed, wounded and wiping blood from his face the 69-year-old questioned his captors: "What did I ever do to you?"
Soon after, he was dead.
Footage of the bloodied despot's final moments was captured on mobile phones and broadcast around the world.
According to Libyan prime minister Mahmoud Jibril, Gaddafi was shot in crossfire between NTC fighters and pro-Gaddafi forces.
No one else was injured in the crossfire fuelling speculation that Gaddafi either died from wounds sustained during his capture, or that he had been summarily executed in the street.
Gaddafi’s son Mutasssim was also killed, according to the Libyan information minister. A video has appeared on YouTube purportedly showing his dead body.
According to Reuters, Moussa Ibrahim, a high-ranking spokesman for the former regime, was captured and Yunus Jaber, head of Gaddafi’s armed forces was found dead.
The whereabouts of Gaddafi’s other son, Saif al-Islam, widely tipped to take over his father’s regime before it fell in August, remains unknown, though reports suggest that he is still at large in Libya’s desert. He may shot and injured.
According to the NTC, Gaddafi’s body is to be buried in a secret location later today in accordance with Muslim law.
Al Arabia is reporting that Gaddafi’s corpse is currently in a Mosque in Misrata.
Following Gaddafi’s death, Nato is now considering the quick end to the air strikes that did so much to end the dictator’s 42-year iron rule to an end.
Overnight, thousand of Libyans took to the streets in Tripoli, Misrata and Benghazi in celebration at the end of the dictator. Libyan communities around the world joined in the celebrations, including ex-pats in London and Manchester.