LIBYA’S NEW government has confirmed that Muammar Gadafy has finally been buried in secret in the desert after controversy about the grisly display of his decomposing corpse for nearly four days after his death.
Two members of the ruling National Transitional Council were reportedly entrusted with the burial in an unknown location – chosen to avoid the risk of the grave becoming a shrine for supporters or, more likely, being desecrated by vengeful opponents. The two officials are understood to have been sworn not to divulge the location.
Gadafy was buried alongside his son Mutassim and army commander Abu Bakr Younis after Muslim prayers were recited over the bodies by Gadafy’s personal cleric, Khaled Tantoush.
The corpses were then removed from the compound in the coastal city of Misurata where they had been on public show in a meat refrigerator since Thursday.
NTC spokesman Abdel Majid Mlegta said the last rites were attended by two of Gadafy’s cousins, Mansour Dhao Ibrahim, once the commander of the People’s Guard, and Ahmed Ibrahim. Both were captured with Gadafy after Nato fighter jets attacked their convoy near Sirte, Gadafy’s home town.
Ibrahim Beitalmal, another spokesman, was quoted by AP as saying that the burial took place at 5am local time.
“The NTC officials were handed the body after the sheikh completed the early morning ceremony and are taking him somewhere very far away into the desert,” the NTC spokesman said.
Many ordinary Libyans do not appear to share western concern about the exact circumstances of Gadafy’s death or the propriety of leaving his body on public view, contrary to Muslim practices.
Pictures of his corpse continue to be published in Libyan newspapers and shown on TV. Freshly-painted graffiti on the streets of Tripoli – in Arabic and English – read: “Dictator Gadafy sent a message to the Libyan people from hell, saying: ‘I am staying here’.”
In a further disturbing development, images are circulating on the internet apparently showing Gadafy being sodomised with a stick or metal rod while still alive. The footage was shot on a mobile phone and includes sounds of gunfire and shouts of “Allahu akbar”.
On Monday, the NTC leader, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, promised an investigation into the exact circumstances of Gadafy’s death. Initial reports suggested he was killed in crossfire as his supporters clashed with rebel forces seizing control of Sirte, but it seems likely that he was captured alive and then killed deliberately.
Meanwhile, one of Gadafy’s sons, the enigmatic Saif al-Islam, remains on the run.
Once viewed as a moderate reformer, he vowed to help his father crush his enemies once the Libyan revolt began.
An NTC official said Saif al-Islam had a false passport and was in the remote southern desert near Niger and Algeria and was set to flee Libya, with the NTC powerless to stop him.
He said Gadafy’s former intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senussi who, like Saif al-Islam, is wanted by the International Criminal Court, was involved in the escape plan.
"The region is very difficult to monitor and encircle," the official said of Saif al-Islam's purported whereabouts. – ( Guardianservice; additional reporting Reuters)