On October 20, Libyan leaders reported that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, who had ruled Libya for nearly forty-two years, was dead. The reports came after an attack on a convoy leaving Qaddafi’s hometown of Surt. The convoy left around 8:30 local time, and was set upon by an American Predator drone and French warplane before covering two miles. The convoy was stopped, and Anti-Qaddafi fighters chased after people fleeing from the convoy.

Libyan rebel leaders say that Qaddafi was found hiding in a drainage pipe, wounded but alive, and that he was taken away in an ambulance to die afterward. However, cellphone picture and video evidence from the events seem to show a different scenario: that Qaddafi was executed by the rebels. The videos showed Qaddafi being beaten and dragged through the streets after being taken captive. There is no clear evidence whether he was still alive when he was taken away in the ambulance.

Most Libyan citizens, as well as a large portion of the Arab world, do not care the way that Qaddafi died, and are simply happy that he is gone. NATO is expected to announce the end of its campaign in Libya, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy says that Qaddafi’s death means the end of military intervention in the country.

Libyan leaders on the National Transitional Council (NTC) must now decide what to do with Qaddafi’s body, and how to move forward. Under Islamic tradition, burial should take place as soon as possible, but NTC officials say that they will hold onto the body for a few days. There is speculation that the burial will occur in secret, or possibly at sea, so the final resting place cannot be turned into a shrine by followers, but no decision has been made yet.

Official inquiry of the circumstances of Qaddafi’s death is expected to occur.