According to Libya’s chief pathologist, an autopsy released Sunday morning confirmed that the late Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gadhafi -- who ruled the African nation for nearly 42 years -- died late last week from a gunshot wound to the head. The Washington Times reports:
The declaration starts the clock on a transition to democracy that is fraught with uncertainty and could take up to two years.However, international concern about the circumstances of Gadhafi’s death and indecision over what to do with his remains overshadowed what was to be a joyful day. Gadhafi’s body has been on public display in a commercial freezer in a shopping center in the port city of Misrata, which suffered from a bloody siege by regime forces during the spring.
The 69-year-old Gadhafi was captured wounded but alive Thursday in his hometown of Sirte as it became the last city to fall to revolutionary forces. Bloody images of Gadhafi being taunted and beaten by his captors have raised questions about whether he was killed in crossfire as suggested by government officials or deliberately executed.
An autopsy completed Sunday in Misrata showed that Gadhafi was killed by a shot to the head, said Libya’s chief pathologist, Dr. Othman al-Zintani. He would not disclose further details or elaborate on Gadhafi’s final moments, saying he would first deliver a full report to the attorney general.
Most Libyans weren’t concerned about the circumstances of the hated leader’s death, but rather were relieved the country’s ruler of 42 years was gone, clearing the way for a new beginning.
“If (Gadhafi) was taken to court, this would create more chaos and would encourage his supporters,” said Salah Zlitni, 31, who owns a pizza parlor in downtown Tripoli. “Now it’s over.”
Libya’s interim leaders are to formally declare later Sunday that the country has been liberated. The ceremony is to take place in the eastern city of Benghazi, the revolution’s birthplace.
The long-awaited declaration starts the clock on Libya’s transition to democracy. The transitional leadership has said it would declare a new interim government within a month of liberation and elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months, to be followed by votes for a parliament and president within a year.
The uprising against the Gadhafi regime erupted in February as part of anti-government revolts spreading across the Middle East and North Africa. Neighboring Tunisia, which set off the so-called Arab Spring with mass protests nearly a year ago, has taken the biggest step on the path to democracy, voting for a new assembly Sunday in its first truly free elections. Egypt, which has struggled with continued unrest, is next with parliamentary elections slated for November.
Libya’s struggle has been the bloodiest so far in the region. Mass protests quickly turned into a civil war that killed thousands and paralyzed the country for the past eight months. Even after revolutionary forces captured the capital, Tripoli, in late August, a fugitive Gadhafi and his supporters fought back fiercely from three regime strongholds.
Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte was the last to fall last week, but Gadhafi’s son and one-time heir apparent Seif al-Islam Gadhafi apparently escaped with some of his supporters.
Libya’s acting prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, who has said he plans to resign after liberation, said Libya’s National Transitional Council must move quickly to disarm former Libyan rebels and make sure huge weapons caches are turned over in coming days. The interim government has not explained in detail how it would tackle the task.
Mr. Jibril told the British Broadcasting Corp. in comments to be broadcast Sunday that “at the personal level I wish (Gadhafi) was alive” so he could face questions from the Libyan people buckling under decades of his harsh rule.
Mr. Jibril said he would not oppose a full investigation under international supervision into Gadhafi’s death.
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