"We announce to the world that Gadhafi has been killed at the hands of the revolution," Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) spokesman Abdul Hafiz Ghoga said on October 20, 2011. "It is the end of tyranny and dictatorship," he added.
In February 2011 Libyans, inspired by the uprising in neighboring Tunisia, had stood up to the regime of the dictator Moammar al-Gadhafi, who rose to power after the 1969 coup he had led.
By March, the United Nations had given its approval for a military operation to protect the civilian population from reprisals by the regime. NATO launched attacks on Gadhafi's military — significantly weakening the dictator's forces.
Gadhafi fled the capital, Tripoli. After months on the run, he was found in the city of Sirte, about 450 kilometers (270 miles) east of Tripoli. Surrounded by opponents, the "revolutionary leader" was caught when he tried to escape through a sewer. The rebels promptly and violently killed him; a photo of the bloodied corpse went around the world.
