Muammar Gaddafi: How did he die?
The confusion surrounding the dictator's death has left many questions as to exactly how it happened
Peter Beaumont, guardian.co.uk,
The confusion surrounding the dictator's death has left many questions as to exactly how it happened
Peter Beaumont, guardian.co.uk,
Thursday 20 October 2011 23.12 BST
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Video purports to show the ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi alive after being shot Link to this video
Did Muammar Gaddafi receive his fatal wounds while attempting to escape or was he executed?
Already questions are being asked about the circumstance of Gaddafi's death, whether he died from his injuries during a Nato airstrike and subsequent gun-battle with government forces.
So what evidence is there for how Gaddafi died?
Video exists of Gaddafi alive after his capture. When he is next seen he appears lifeless
Several fragments of mobile phone footage exist showing brief snapshots of Gaddafi apparently able to use his legs after capture, Gaddafi moving his hand up to his throat and a lifeless Gaddafi after being helped into a pickup truck. While the quality is poor in all of them, it appears that in the first sequence of Gaddafi still alive he is bleeding from a wound on the left side of his head, parallel with his left eye.
In post mortem stills, taken in an ambulance after his death, several wounds are visible including a large round wound close to his left temple, a wound in the centre of his forehead and an elongated wound close to his throat. Doctors and a reporter who saw the body also describe seeing a gunshot wound to the chest although this may have been the wound close to his throat.
Doctors in the ambulance who saw him also described a gunshot wound to the head and one to the chest although it is not clear whether these were received before or after capture given evidence of an existing head injury on capture attested to by other NTC officials.
Accounts of his death by an unnamed NTC official and a fighter interviewed on television suggested he had been shot with a 9mm round "after" being taken into custody.
It has been claimed the wound to the head is a gunshot wound
From the post mortem pictures it is hard to tell when the wound to the temple was delivered or by what. It is clear that Gaddafi had a head injury of some kind when captured. In most of the video fragments there is evidence of bleeding down that side of his face, soaking the shoulder of his shirt, even when pictured alive.
Close contact gunshot wounds – often associated with execution – typically show a different appearance. They are often star shaped and surrounded by a "tattoo" of gunpowder and other residues.
This is not apparent in what can be seen of the obvious wound to the temple. It is impossible to tell from the post mortem images so far released from the ambulance if there is an associated exit wound, but a plastic bag appears to have been placed closed to where it might be expected. So for now it is difficult to tell how he received the injury, at what range, when or in what circumstances.
In the footage of Gaddafi lifeless propped up in the truck, he appears to be unconscious but bleeding heavily from his head.
There is footage of what appears to be a mob attack on Gaddafi on the ground. The difficulty with this segment is that it is not clear whether Gaddafi is alive or dead. In the other fragments that appear to show him alive he is wearing a gold coloured tunic and trousers. By the time this footage has been taken, his shirt has been removed suggesting it may be later in the sequence of clips – perhaps after Gaddafi was already dead.
Video purports to show the ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi alive after being shot Link to this video
Did Muammar Gaddafi receive his fatal wounds while attempting to escape or was he executed?
Already questions are being asked about the circumstance of Gaddafi's death, whether he died from his injuries during a Nato airstrike and subsequent gun-battle with government forces.
So what evidence is there for how Gaddafi died?
Video exists of Gaddafi alive after his capture. When he is next seen he appears lifeless
Several fragments of mobile phone footage exist showing brief snapshots of Gaddafi apparently able to use his legs after capture, Gaddafi moving his hand up to his throat and a lifeless Gaddafi after being helped into a pickup truck. While the quality is poor in all of them, it appears that in the first sequence of Gaddafi still alive he is bleeding from a wound on the left side of his head, parallel with his left eye.
In post mortem stills, taken in an ambulance after his death, several wounds are visible including a large round wound close to his left temple, a wound in the centre of his forehead and an elongated wound close to his throat. Doctors and a reporter who saw the body also describe seeing a gunshot wound to the chest although this may have been the wound close to his throat.
Doctors in the ambulance who saw him also described a gunshot wound to the head and one to the chest although it is not clear whether these were received before or after capture given evidence of an existing head injury on capture attested to by other NTC officials.
Accounts of his death by an unnamed NTC official and a fighter interviewed on television suggested he had been shot with a 9mm round "after" being taken into custody.
It has been claimed the wound to the head is a gunshot wound
From the post mortem pictures it is hard to tell when the wound to the temple was delivered or by what. It is clear that Gaddafi had a head injury of some kind when captured. In most of the video fragments there is evidence of bleeding down that side of his face, soaking the shoulder of his shirt, even when pictured alive.
Close contact gunshot wounds – often associated with execution – typically show a different appearance. They are often star shaped and surrounded by a "tattoo" of gunpowder and other residues.
This is not apparent in what can be seen of the obvious wound to the temple. It is impossible to tell from the post mortem images so far released from the ambulance if there is an associated exit wound, but a plastic bag appears to have been placed closed to where it might be expected. So for now it is difficult to tell how he received the injury, at what range, when or in what circumstances.
In the footage of Gaddafi lifeless propped up in the truck, he appears to be unconscious but bleeding heavily from his head.
There is footage of what appears to be a mob attack on Gaddafi on the ground. The difficulty with this segment is that it is not clear whether Gaddafi is alive or dead. In the other fragments that appear to show him alive he is wearing a gold coloured tunic and trousers. By the time this footage has been taken, his shirt has been removed suggesting it may be later in the sequence of clips – perhaps after Gaddafi was already dead.
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guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/20/gaddafi-how-did-he-die?newsfeed=true
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