LIBYA: Muammar Gaddafi's body lies in a market cold storage unit on the outskirts of Misrata, as Libyan authorities debate his burial

Record ID: 589777

  • Title: LIBYA: Muammar Gaddafi's body lies in a market cold storage unit on the outskirts of Misrata, as Libyan authorities debate his burial
  • Date: 22nd October 2011
  • Summary: BODY OF FORMER LIBYAN LEADER, MUAMMAR GADDAFI ON MATTRESS IN COLD STORAGE UNIT PEOPLE LOOKING AT BODY AND FILMING IT VARIOUS OF GADDAFI'S BODY VARIOUS OF PEOPLE FILMING BODY WOUND ON GADDAFI'S BODY WOUND ON GADDAFI'S HEAD PERSON FILMING BODY WITH MOBILE PHONE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COMMANDER IN CHARGE OF GUARDING THE BODY, ABDUL-SALAM ULEYWA, SAYING: "He will have his rights like any other Muslim, we all say 'There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the prophet of God', so he will be washed, respected and buried in a Muslim cemetery, that's certain." PEOPLE CHANTING 'ALLAHU AKBAR' (GOD IS GREATEST) IN FRONT OF CAMERA
  • Embargoed: 6th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya, Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Conflict,Domestic Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVAJJ88XN1ZQ2A5NRJ7LW8EWDV0
  • Story Text: After the drama of their capture and killing of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's new leaders argued over his body on Friday (October 21), while Libyans, and the world, awaited the formal launch of a new era of democracy.
    The corpse, a bullet wound in the side of the head, was lying in a cold store in an old market area of Misrata, where it was taken after the 69-year-old fugitive strongman was killed in his hometown of Sirte on Thursday (October 20).
    The cold store is usually used for market purposes.
    A local commander said the body would be buried with dignity and full Muslim rites within 24 hours, but the site was not yet determined.
    "He will have his rights like any other Muslim, we all say 'There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the prophet of God', so he will be washed, respected and buried in a Muslim cemetery, that's certain," said Abdul-Salam Uleywa, the commander of the brigade currently in charge of guarding Gaddafi's body.
    A senior official of the National Transitional Council told Reuters there was division in the upper reaches of the NTC over where Gaddafi's final resting place should be.
    With expectations running high that a formal declaration of "liberation" could come by Saturday (October 22), setting a clock ticking on a timeline to a new constitution and elections, the interim oil minister said he was urging colleagues to keep the body chilled for some days to ensure there was no doubt Gaddafi was dead.
    Arguments over where and how to dispose of the remains, as well as those of Gaddafi's son Mo'tassim, followed surprise and confusion on Thursday over their capture and deaths and serve as a stark reminder of the challenges facing any new administration in imposing order on a country awash with guns and armed groups.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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