How old is moammar gadhafi

Many critics of the newfound friendship of Qaddafi and the West believed it was based on business and access to oil. In , the United Nations eased sanctions on Libya, and foreign oil companies worked out lucrative new contracts to operate in the country. The influx of money to Libya made Qaddafi, his family and his associates even wealthier. The disparity between the ruling family and the masses became ever more apparent. After more than four decades in power, Qaddafi's downfall happened in less than a year.

The next month, Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak was forced out, providing a morale boost to protesters in several Arab capitals. Despite the atmosphere of severe repression, demonstrations broke out in the city of Benghazi and spread throughout Libya. Qaddafi used aggressive force to try to suppress the protests, and the violence quickly escalated.

Police and foreign mercenaries were brought in to shoot at protesters, and helicopters were sent to bombard citizens from the air. As casualties mounted, Libyans grew more determined to see Qaddafi's ouster. As violence spread through the country, Qaddafi made several rambling speeches on state television, claiming the demonstrators were traitors, foreigners, al-Qaeda and drug addicts. He urged his supporters to continue the fight, and small groups of heavily armed loyalists battled against the rebels.

By the end of February , the opposition had gained control over much of the country, and the rebels formed a governing body called the National Transitional Council. The opposition surrounded Tripoli, where Qaddafi still had some support. Most of the international community expressed support for the NTC and called for the ouster of Qaddafi. At the end of March, a NATO coalition began to provide support for the rebel forces in the form of airstrikes and a no-fly zone.

NATO's military intervention over the next six months proved to be decisive. When Tripoli fell to rebel forces in late August, it was seen as a major victory for the opposition and a symbolic end for Qaddafi's rule.

In June , the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam, and his brother-in-law for crimes against humanity. Qaddafi had lost control of Libya, but his whereabouts were still unknown. On October 20, , Libyan officials announced that Qaddafi had died near his hometown of Sirte, Libya. Early reports had conflicting accounts of his death, with some stating that he had been killed in a gun battle and others claiming that he had been targeted by a NATO aerial attack.

Video circulated of Qaddafi's bloodied body being dragged around by fighters. For months, Qaddafi and his family had been at large, believed to be hiding in the western part of the country where they still had small pockets of support. As news of the former dictator's death spread, Libyans poured into the streets, celebrating the what many hailed as the culmination of their revolution.

Post Qaddafi, Libya has continued to be embroiled in violence. With state authority eventually being held by the General National Congress, various militia groups have vied for power. Dozens of political figures and activists in Benghazi have been killed, with many having to leave the area.

The country has also seen a succession of interim prime ministers. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. A huge portrait of Muammar Gaddafi marks the entrance of Bani Walid: 10 chaotic years since the Libyan dictator's death, residents of the desert town still hanker for his rule.

Unfinished concrete buildings litter the town of some , people on the edge of the Sahara desert, many of them scarred by bullets and mortar rounds fired during over a decade of conflict. Rebels killed Gaddafi in his hometown of Sirte on October 20, , months into the NATO-backed rebellion that ended his four-decade rule. Residents of Bani Walid, a stronghold of the Warfala tribe -- the country's biggest and a key pillar of Gaddafi's rule -- had backed him to the bitter end.

Many fighters from the town were killed, with more dying in further battles when rival militia groups attacked. Today, dusty wind whips through the town centre, where a decommissioned tank overlooks a dried-up fountain and a board bearing pictures of "martyrs" hangs above a pile of mortar shells.

Bani Walid lies in an oasis some kilometres miles southeast of Libya's capital Tripoli. The red, black and green flag of the pre-Gaddafi years, adopted again by rebels in , is nowhere to be seen. Despite being a darling of most African countries, a record of human rights abuses and corruption in his own country turned many Libyans against Gaddafi. And when the winds of the Arab spring reached Libya, people held mass protests against him, giving Western armies an opportunity to move in.

Despite being seen as a pan-African who sought African unity, Gaddafi was also accused of backing notorious rebel groups in Liberia and Sierra Leone, among others. He said this explains why organs of the continent such as the African Union looked on without a whimper of protest in , when Western armies were pummeling Libya with bombs. Most academics who spoke to Anadolu Agency argued that the March 19, NATO-led military intervention in Libya was unjustifiable because it plunged the country into total chaos.

Kakuba agreed that Western countries should have left the African Union to resolve the situation in Libya, giving the continental body an opportunity to solve an African problem. Jassat faulted some African countries, saying they let down Libya by voting with the UN Security Council in their resolution to bomb Libya.

He said South Africa also marred its reputation for failing to intervene and prevent the destruction of an ally.