Fear on his face after being captured in his home town of Sirte, this is Gaddafi in the moments leading up to his death
Final moments: A dazed Gaddafi gesticulates as rebels parade him through Sirte shortly before he was shot
Grimacing in pain: A still from a video taken from the mobile phone of a rebel fighter shows Gaddafi, his face covered in blood, being dragged around by freedom fighters
Losing blood: Gaddafi lifts a hand to his face to see the blood pouring from his wounds. The mobile phone footage shows the dictator slumped against a jeep but still alive
The final bloody moments of Muammar Gaddafi's life were still shrouded in confusion today as conflicting reports emerged about who fired the shot that actually killed him.
Libya's deposed leader was pulled out alive from a drain under a motorway in Sirte, the city of his birthplace, where he had been hiding with a small group of bodyguards.
A clutch of videos have emerged on the internet in which he is seen begging his captors for mercy. His condition varies dramatically, with later footage showing him rambling and drenched in blood.
Wounded and terrified, Gaddafi appeared deluded to the end, asking his captors: 'What did I do to you?' His last words were 'Do you know right from wrong?'
Scroll down for video of Gaddafi's last minutes...
Was this the moment the dictator died? A handgun points at the head of Gaddafi who is facing the ground with his hands behind his back
On October 20, 2011, the world watched in stunned silence as raw, chaotic footage emerged from the Libyan city of Sirte—showing the final, brutal minutes of Muammar Gaddafi, the man who ruled Libya for 42 years with charisma, cruelty, and unrelenting control.
The videos—filmed on mobile phones by rebel fighters and quickly spread across social media and news networks—captured not just the death of a dictator, but the collapse of an era. And while graphic and deeply disturbing, they remain some of the most significant visual documents of the Arab Spring’s violent climax.
What the Footage Actually Shows
There are two key clips that surfaced within hours of Gaddafi’s death:
1. Gaddafi Alive—Begging for Mercy
In the first video, recorded around 8:30 a.m., Gaddafi is seen emerging from a drainage pipe beneath a highway overpass where he’d been hiding after NATO airstrikes destroyed his fleeing convoy. Disheveled, bloodied, and wearing a brown robe over a bulletproof vest, he is surrounded by dozens of armed NTC (National Transitional Council) fighters from Misrata.
He pleads repeatedly:
“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot, my children! I beg you!”
He is helped to his feet, appearing dazed but conscious. Fighters shout, “Allahu Akbar!” as they drag him toward a vehicle. At one point, someone places a hand on his head—a gesture some interpret as attempted protection, others as control.
This footage confirms: Gaddafi was captured alive.
2. The Aftermath—Chaos and Death
The second, more harrowing clip shows Gaddafi moments later—blood pouring from his head and body, being shoved into the back of a pickup truck. He is beaten with rifles, kicked, and taunted. Within minutes, he is dead.
Later footage shows his lifeless body lying on the floor of a cold storage room in Misrata, stripped to the waist, eyes open, as crowds gawk and take photos. His son Mutassim, also captured that day, lies dead beside him.
Who Filmed It—and Why It Spread
The videos were shot by NTC-aligned militiamen, many of whom had suffered under Gaddafi’s regime—especially during the brutal siege of Misrata earlier that year. For them, this was not just justice—it was vengeance.
Within hours, the clips went viral. Al Jazeera broadcast them globally. YouTube hosted them (before later removing them for graphic content). Social media exploded with reactions—some celebrating, others horrified.
Controversy and Condemnation
Human rights organizations immediately condemned what they called an extrajudicial execution.
Amnesty International: “Gaddafi was denied due process and summarily executed. This is a war crime.”
Human Rights Watch: “The footage shows a clear violation of international law. Captured combatants must be protected.”
Even Western leaders who supported the NATO intervention expressed discomfort. While U.S. President Barack Obama stated, “We do not condone violence,” he stopped short of calling it a crime—focusing instead on Libya’s “new beginning.”
Why the Footage Still Matters
Beyond its shock value, the video serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of revolutionary chaos. Gaddafi’s death wasn’t clean or lawful—it was messy, emotional, and brutal. And in that brutality, Libya lost any chance of a truth-and-reconciliation process like South Africa’s.
Instead, the country descended into militia rule, civil war, and foreign interference—proving that killing a tyrant doesn’t automatically create peace.
Moreover, the footage raised ethical questions about sharing images of death. Should such videos be public? Do they serve justice—or just feed voyeurism?
A Warning from History
Today, the clips remain accessible in archives and documentaries—but are often blurred or edited out of mainstream broadcasts due to their graphic nature.
Yet their legacy endures:
They show how easily revolution can slip into retribution.
How dehumanization breeds more dehumanization.
And how, even for a man who ruled through fear, the final moment was one of utter vulnerability.
Gaddafi’s last words—“Don’t shoot, my children!”—echo not as the plea of a dictator, but as the cry of a man realizing too late that power offers no protection when the mob arrives.
And in that truth lies a warning for every nation:
How we treat our worst enemies defines who we are far more than how we treat our heroes.
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