Publications
Partners
Sirte - The acrid smell of charred flesh and burnt cars filled the air outside Sirte on Friday and dozens of bodies lay scattered where Muammar Gaddafi was captured trying to hide in a sewage pipe.
The barren farm, just 3km west of Sirte, bears testimony to the last moments of Libya's former strongman who was captured on Thursday, wounded by fighters of the National Transitional Council (NTC).
He had taken refuge in a sewage pipe after French warplanes from Nato struck his convoy.
Gaddafi was captured waving his golden gun while trying to flee Sirte as NTC fighters raced through to mop up the last pockets of his loyalist resistance. He subsequently died of his wounds inflicted in circumstances that remain hazy.
"He was dragged out of the pipe by his neck by fighters from Misrata," said Mohammed Belhaj, himself a fighter from Misrata, the third largest port city of Libya, west of Sirte, as he showed AFP the spot where he said Gaddafi was hiding.
Dozens of charred and mutilated bodies still lie in the farm on both sides of the road that leads to Misrata. Three of them lay covered near the sewage pipe where Gaddafi was hiding on one side of the road. Others, mainly pieces of burnt flesh, lie on the other.
Some of the corpses near the sewage pipe showed they had been wounded before, during fighting in Sirte, as they had wounds to their legs and hands which had been bandaged days earlier.
Fierce impact
Some of the completely mutilated bodies and destroyed vehicles bore witness to the fierce impact of the strike by aircraft as the dictator's convoy tried to flee Sirte.
Nato itself said on Friday that it had hit 11 armoured vehicles in and near Sirte 24 hours earlier.
The farm itself is a vast empty terrain with few trees and shrubs, some cement compounds, broken electric transmission towers and twisted power cables.
"When Nato planes hit the convoy, the drivers panicked and drove wildly anywhere they could in the farm," said fighter Luey Zaini, who claimed he had reached the spot minutes after Misrata fighters left with Gaddafi.
Loyalists inside the burnt and wrecked vehicles would have had little chance to escape, and it was unclear how Gaddafi managed to get out of his vehicle in the convoy to try to hide in the sewage pipe.
Libya's interim premier Mahmud Jibril said on Thursday that Gaddafi was shot in the head "in crossfire" between his supporters and new regime fighters after his capture.
"When he was found, he was in good health, carrying a gun," Jibril told a press conference in Tripoli, adding that Gaddafi remained alive until he arrived at the hospital in Misrata.
On Friday, dozens of pick-up trucks loaded with NTC fighters chanting "Allahu Akbar [God is greatest]" flocked to the site to see how the events unfolded a day ago.
Gaddafi’s corpse
Several fighters were filming the scene on their mobile phones as they covered their faces to try to avoid the stench of burnt human flesh.
"My uncle who is commander of the group that caught and killed Muammar said there was a fierce fire fight between Gaddafi troops and Misrata fighters before he was captured," said Belhaj as he showed AFP the mobile phone video circulating among fighters showing Gaddafi’s corpse.
Fighter Ahmed Bisu on Friday expressed jubilation at Gaddafi’s death as he too filmed the grim remains of his loyalists.
"This is the best thing that happened in our revolution. Such a cruel dictator deserves only death. I am happy like all other Libyans," Bisu said as he continued filming the charred bodies.
"This site is historical for Libyans now. This is where Gaddafi’s rule ended."
The barren farm, just 3km west of Sirte, bears testimony to the last moments of Libya's former strongman who was captured on Thursday, wounded by fighters of the National Transitional Council (NTC).
He had taken refuge in a sewage pipe after French warplanes from Nato struck his convoy.
Gaddafi was captured waving his golden gun while trying to flee Sirte as NTC fighters raced through to mop up the last pockets of his loyalist resistance. He subsequently died of his wounds inflicted in circumstances that remain hazy.
"He was dragged out of the pipe by his neck by fighters from Misrata," said Mohammed Belhaj, himself a fighter from Misrata, the third largest port city of Libya, west of Sirte, as he showed AFP the spot where he said Gaddafi was hiding.
Dozens of charred and mutilated bodies still lie in the farm on both sides of the road that leads to Misrata. Three of them lay covered near the sewage pipe where Gaddafi was hiding on one side of the road. Others, mainly pieces of burnt flesh, lie on the other.
Some of the corpses near the sewage pipe showed they had been wounded before, during fighting in Sirte, as they had wounds to their legs and hands which had been bandaged days earlier.
Fierce impact
Some of the completely mutilated bodies and destroyed vehicles bore witness to the fierce impact of the strike by aircraft as the dictator's convoy tried to flee Sirte.
Nato itself said on Friday that it had hit 11 armoured vehicles in and near Sirte 24 hours earlier.
The farm itself is a vast empty terrain with few trees and shrubs, some cement compounds, broken electric transmission towers and twisted power cables.
"When Nato planes hit the convoy, the drivers panicked and drove wildly anywhere they could in the farm," said fighter Luey Zaini, who claimed he had reached the spot minutes after Misrata fighters left with Gaddafi.
Loyalists inside the burnt and wrecked vehicles would have had little chance to escape, and it was unclear how Gaddafi managed to get out of his vehicle in the convoy to try to hide in the sewage pipe.
Libya's interim premier Mahmud Jibril said on Thursday that Gaddafi was shot in the head "in crossfire" between his supporters and new regime fighters after his capture.
"When he was found, he was in good health, carrying a gun," Jibril told a press conference in Tripoli, adding that Gaddafi remained alive until he arrived at the hospital in Misrata.
On Friday, dozens of pick-up trucks loaded with NTC fighters chanting "Allahu Akbar [God is greatest]" flocked to the site to see how the events unfolded a day ago.
Gaddafi’s corpse
Several fighters were filming the scene on their mobile phones as they covered their faces to try to avoid the stench of burnt human flesh.
"My uncle who is commander of the group that caught and killed Muammar said there was a fierce fire fight between Gaddafi troops and Misrata fighters before he was captured," said Belhaj as he showed AFP the mobile phone video circulating among fighters showing Gaddafi’s corpse.
Fighter Ahmed Bisu on Friday expressed jubilation at Gaddafi’s death as he too filmed the grim remains of his loyalists.
"This is the best thing that happened in our revolution. Such a cruel dictator deserves only death. I am happy like all other Libyans," Bisu said as he continued filming the charred bodies.
"This site is historical for Libyans now. This is where Gaddafi’s rule ended."
