Did Libya’s NTC lose control of its fighters?
Inside Story examines reports of atrocities committed during the final weeks of battle and asks if these were justified.
The former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has gone. He is now officially “dead and buried”, but just how did he and more than 50 of his supporters die?
As Gaddafi was buried at an undisclosed location at dawn on Tuesday, the National Transitional Council (NTC) bowed to international pressure and announced the formation of a committee to investigate how he and his son were killed.
Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the head of the NTC, still held to the initial explanation given that Gaddafi may have been killed in crossfire – a view many of his officials do not appear to believe.
There is also a report from Human Rights Watch pointing to evidence of atrocities committed against 53 captured Gaddafi supporters who were found in the grounds of an abandoned hotel in Sirte, some bound and shot in the head.
As evidence emerges of summary executions, questions are being asked about whether the NTC lost control of its fighters during the final chaotic weeks of battle or if 40 years of brutality and repression justify such acts.
Inside Story discusses with guests: Alia Brahimi, from the Centre for Global Governance at the London School of Economics (LSE); Waheed Burshan, an NTC representative; and David Mepham, the UK director of Human Rights Watch.