Son killed along with Khadafi; some conflicting reports of dictator's final moments

While Libyans dance in the streets with the news that their much despised dictator Moammar Khadafi is dead, there are still some conflicting reports as to his final moments. Libyan Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam said Khadafi's son Mutassim had been killed alongside his father. "Mutassim is dead. I can confirm it," Mahmoud Shammam told Reuters.

Questions remain concerning the circumstances over Khadafi's death as footage appeared to show he had been captured alive. Earlier reports had suggested that he had been captured alive but injured.

NTC military chief Abdul Hakim Belhaj said Khadafi had died of his wounds after being captured. Abdel Majid, another NTC official, had earlier said the toppled leader had been wounded in both legs.

Many expressed surprise that Khadafi stubbornly remained in Libya in spite of the raging military siege all around him. Al Jazeera correspondent Tony Birtley said that "This is bringing a form of closure," he said. "Khadafi stayed true to his words, that he would stay in Libya till the end.

"It was surprising to many that he did actually stay here in Sirte - it's taken such a bombardment in the last 13 days. Nothing could survive in here for very long. I think they were starved of food, starved of ammunition, and finally there was nothing to do but to run."

Reaction to Khadafi's death in Libya and around the world has been swift. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, she reacted with one word: "Wow." She added that the end of Khadafi would "add legitimacy and relief to the formation of a new government."

Mahmoud Jibril, the de facto Libyan prime minister, told reporters at Tripoli, "We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar Khadafi has been killed."

Asked what would be done with Khadafi's body, he said: "It doesn't make any difference, as long as he disappears."

Jibril said he had received unconfirmed reports that Khadafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, was trying to flee from Sirte but had been tracked down by NTC fighters. Later reports suggested that Saif had been injured and arrested. Ahmed Ibrahim, a cousin of Khadafi, was also reportedly captured.

There was also footage of the body of Abu Bakr Younus, Khadafi's defense minister.

Abdul Hakim Al Jalil, commander of the NTC's 11th brigade, said that Moussa Ibrahim, the former spokesman for Khadafi's fallen government, had been captured near Sirte.

In spite of this apparent victory, rebel forces continue in many parts of Libya.

"The forces that are pro-Khadafi, first of all, they are not politically organized, they are not strategically outlined, and they are not fighting actually to gain ground," Libya scholar Ziad Akl from the Ahram Center in Cairo says. "They are simply trying to defend the positions they have and stop the revolution from moving on and this is a time- constrained battle."

Sumber: Catholic Online

Posted in: internasional