Gaddafi death warning to iron-fist rulers

Former Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, who fled into hiding after rebels toppled his regime two months ago in the Arab Spring’s most tumultuous uprising, was killed as fighters battling the vestiges of his loyalist forces wrested control of his hometown of Sirte.

Media outlets showed Gaddafi’s corpse lying on the ground, with a bloodied face, lifeless open eyes and an apparent gunshot wound to the side of the head, as jubilant fighters fired automatic weapons in the air.

The images punctuated an emphatic and violent ending to his 42 years as a ruthless and bombastic autocrat, who had basked in his reputation as the self-styled king of kings of Africa.

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