Libya's Col Muammar Gaddafi killed, says NTC

 

Libya's ex-leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has been killed after an assault on his birthplace of Sirte, officials say.

Acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril announced the death, and later said the colonel had been killed in a crossfire between Gaddafi loyalists and fighters from the transitional authorities.

He confirmed that Col Gaddafi had been taken alive, but died of bullet wounds minutes before reaching hospital.

Video footage suggests he was also dragged through the streets.

It is unclear from the footage, broadcast by al-Jazeera TV, whether he was alive or dead at the time.

US President Barack Obama said it was a "momentous day" for Libya, now that tyranny had fallen.

He said the country had a "long and winding road towards full democracy", but the US and other countries would stand behind Tripoli.

Col Gaddafi was toppled from power in August after 42 years in charge of the country.

Golden gun

He was fighting his last stand in Sirte alongside two of his sons, Mutassim and Saif al-Islam, according to reports.

Acting Justice Minister Mohammad al-Alagi told the AP news agency Saif al-Islam had been captured and taken to hospital with a leg wound.

A corpse that officials identified as that of Mutassim has been laid out in a house in the city of Misrata, where locals have been queuing to take pictures.

The body of Col Gaddafi has also reportedly been taken to Misrata.

Nato, which has been running a bombing campaign in Libya for months, said it had carried out an air strike earlier on Thursday.

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said French jets had fired warning shots to halt a convoy carrying Col Gaddafi as it tried to flee Sirte.

He said Libyan fighters had then descended and taken the colonel.

Proof of Col Gaddafi's fate came in grainy pieces of video, first circulated among fighters, and then broadcast by international news channels.

The first images showed a bloodied figure presumed to be Col Gaddafi.

Later, video emerged of the colonel being bundled on to the back of a pick-up truck after being captured alive.

None of the video footage has been independently verified

 Mr Jibril, number two in the National Transitional Council (NTC), held a news conference in Tripoli to confirm the colonel's death.

"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar Gaddafi has been killed," he said.

Later, he told journalists that a "forensic report" had concluded that the colonel had died from bullet wounds after he had been captured and driven away.

"When the car was moving it was caught in crossfire between the revolutionaries and Gaddafi forces in which he was hit by a bullet in the head," said Mr Jibril, quoting from the report.

"The forensic doctor could not tell if it came from the revolutionaries or from Gaddafi's forces."

Earlier, some NTC fighters gave a different account of the colonel's death, saying he had been shot when he tried to escape.

One NTC fighter told the BBC that he found Col Gaddafi hiding in a hole, and the former leader had begged him not to shoot.

The fighter showed reporters a golden pistol he said he had taken from Col Gaddafi.

Arabic TV channels showed images of troops surrounding two large drainage pipes where the reporters said Col Gaddafi was found.

'Full of challenges'

Libyans gathered in towns and cities across the country to celebrate the reports of the colonel's death.

The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse has visited the drain where Col Gaddafi was reportedly found by NTC forces

Groups of young men fired guns in the air, and drivers honked horns in celebration.

His death came after weeks of fierce fighting for Sirte, one of the last remaining pockets of resistance.

World leaders urged the NTC to carry through its promise to reform the country.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who had taken a leading role in Nato's intervention, said it was "a day to remember all of Col Gaddafi's victims".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called it a "historic" moment, but warned: "The road ahead for Libya and its people will be difficult and full of challenges."

Officials said the NTC intended to announce the "liberation of the country" in the coming days, allowing them to begin pushing through democratic reforms that will lead to elections.

 

*목격자들이 전한 카다피 최후의 순간

20일(현지시간) 처참한 모습으로 숨진 리비아의 전 독재자 무아마르 카다피의 최후을 담은 동영상과 현장을 지켜본 목격자들의 생생한 증언이 속속 나오고 있다.

   리비아의 한 행인이 촬영해 CNN 등을 통해 공개된 영상에는 카다피로 보이는 남성이 피를 흘린 채 비틀거리며 국가과도위원회(NTC) 군인들 사이를 지나 트럭 쪽으로 끌려가는 모습이 나온다. 이어 누군가 "그를 살려줘, 그를 살려줘!"라고 소리치고 나서 총성이 울렸다.

   카메라의 방향은 갑자기 바뀌어 영상 속에서 카다피는 사라졌고, TV 화면은 이후 죽은 것처럼 보이는 카다피가 구급차에 실려가는 모습을 방영했다.

   NTC의 마무드 지브릴 총리는 "카다피가 생포됐을 때 건강에는 문제가 없었다"면서 "그가 하수관에서 발견돼 픽업트럭으로 옮겨졌고, 트럭이 출발하려는 순간에 카다피군과 NTC군 사이에서 교전이 벌어지면서 카다피가 머리에 총을 맞았다"고 주장했다.

   지브릴 총리는 또 "카다피를 죽이라는 지시는 없었다"고 덧붙였다.

   그러나 NTC의 한 소식통은 로이터통신에 "그들이 카다피를 생포했지만, 그를 끌고 가는 동안 카다피를 구타했고, 그를 죽였다"면서 "카다피가 저항했던 것 같다"며 다른 증언을 내놓았다.

   따라서 시르테 인근 하수구에서 생포된 카다피가 최후의 순간에 NTC군에 의해 살해됐는지, 혹은 양측간 교전 중에 우발적으로 총에 맞아 숨졌는지는 아직 확인되지 않고 있다.

   카다피가 미수라타에 도착했을 때 카다피를 검진했던 의사는 그가 머리와 복부에 총을 맞았다고 전했다.

로이터와 AFP 등에 따르면 카다피군은 이날 호송차량을 80대를 앞세워 반군의 포위망을 뚫고 탈출을 시도했다. 하지만, 프랑스의 전투기가 위협 폭격을 가하면서 멀리 가지는 못했고, 이어 NTC군들의 공격을 받았다.

   시르테 서쪽으로부터 3㎞ 떨어진 곳에서 발생한 이 공격으로 기관총을 실은 픽업트럭 15대가 불탔고, 트럭 인근에는 50여 구의 시신이 발견됐다.

   당시 카다피는 도망쳐 인근 하수구로 숨었으나 NTC군에 의해 곧바로 적발됐다.

   당시 체포작전에 참여한 NTC군은 "카다피의 부하 중 한 명이 공중에 총을 흔들며 항복하겠다고 소리쳤다"면서 "그러나 그가 나를 보자마자 총격을 가했다"고 전했다.

   NTC군은 이어 "그때 카다피가 부하들에게 총격을 중지하라고 말한 것 같다"면서 "그 부하는 '내 주인이 여기 있다. 무아마르 카다피가 여기 있으며 그가 부상당했다고 소리쳤다"고 말했다.

   이어 이 NTC군은 하수구에서 카다피를 끌어내 트럭에 태웠다고 전했다. 카다피는 체포 당시 이미 다리와 등에 총상을 입었고, "뭐가 잘못됐지? 어떻게 돼 가고 있는 거야?"라고 말한 것으로 알려졌다.

   또 다른 NTC군은 "카다피의 경호원 중 한 명이 카다피의 가슴에 총을 쐈다"고 전했다. 카다피는 이후 시르테로 옮겨졌으나 누군지 알 수 없지만 총에 맞아 숨진 것으로 확인됐다.

   fusionjc@yna.co.kr