How long has gaddafi ruled libya

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.

Since then we've seen 10 years of injustice, bombing, killing and kidnapping," said Mohammad Abi Hamra, who wore a wristwatch bearing Gaddafi's face. But what has happened since hasn't been a real revolution, it has been a conspiracy against Libya," he said. The 10th anniversary of Gaddafis death comes as the country prepares for December elections, part of a United Nations-led peace process that some hope will help start a new, more peaceful chapter in Libya's history.

But many in Bani Walid are sceptical, seeing more hope in the old regime than in the country's current political forces. For Abouhriba, the state of the country's economy -- wracked by inflation and conflict -- is more stark evidence that life was better under Gaddafi. He said Bani Walid's attachment to the former leader stretches to his son Seif al-Islam, whose face appears on posters on the walls of town.

In true nomadic style, the tent also went with the colonel on trips to Europe and the US, although in New York state it fell foul of stringent zoning regulations on the estate of tycoon Donald Trump and had to be hastily dismantled. Distaste about the alleged architect of Lockerbie's readmission into the world leaders' club lingered in many circles, not least among the US victims' families and their supporters.

But that did not stop business deals being struck with a succession of western defence manufacturers and oil firms. Ironically, it was on the Arab front that Gaddafi kept his black sheep status alive. Throughout the s, the normally staid proceedings of annual summits of the Arab League were almost guaranteed to be disrupted by the Libyan leader's antics, whether it was lighting up a cigarette and blowing smoke into the face of his neighbour, or tossing insults at Gulf rulers and the Palestinians, or declaring himself "king of kings of Africa".

The UN has also witnessed the colonel's eccentricity. At the General Assembly, he gave a rambling speech more than an hour-and-a-quarter longer than his allocated minute time slot, tearing out and screwing up pages from the UN Charter as he spoke. When the winds of revolt started to blow through the Arab world from Tunisia in December , Libya was not at the top of most people's list of "who's next". Gaddafi fitted the bill as an authoritarian ruler who had endured for more years than the vast majority of his citizens could remember.

But he was not so widely perceived as a western lackey as other Arab leaders, accused of putting outside interests before the interests of their own people. He had redistributed wealth - although the enrichment of his own family from oil revenues and other deals was hard to ignore and redistribution was undertaken more in the spirit of buying loyalty than promoting equality. He sponsored grand public works, such as the improbable Great Man-Made River project , a massive endeavour inspired, perhaps, by ancient Bedouin water procurement techniques, that brought sweet, fresh water from aquifers in the south to the arid north of his country.

There was even something of a Tripoli Spring, with long-term exiles given to understand that they could return without facing persecution or jail. When the first calls for a Libyan "day of rage" were circulated, Gaddafi pledged - apparently in all seriousness - to protest with the people, in keeping with his myth of being the "brother leader of the revolution" who had long ago relinquished power to the people. As it turned out, the scent of freedom and the draw of possibly toppling the colonel, just as Egypt's Mubarak and Tunisia's Ben Ali had been toppled, was too strong to resist among parts of the Libyan population, especially in the east.

Some of the first footage of rebellion to come out of Benghazi showed incensed young Libyans outside an official building smashing up a green monolith representing the spurious liberation doctrine that had kept them enslaved since the s - the Green Book.

As the uprising spread, and the seriousness of the threat to his rule became apparent, Gaddafi showed he had lost none of the ruthlessness directed against dissidents and exiles in the s and s. This time it was turned on whole towns and cities where people had dared to tear down his posters and call for his downfall. Regular troops and mercenaries nearly overwhelmed the rag-tag rebels, consisting of military deserters and ill-trained militiamen brought together under the banner of the National Transitional Council NTC.

The colonel could afford to dismiss them as wayward year-olds, "given pills at night, hallucinatory pills in their drinks, their milk, their coffee, their Nescafe". The intervention of Nato on the rebels' side in March, authorised by a UN resolution calling for the protection of civilians, prevented their seemingly imminent annihilation - but it was months before they could turn the situation to their advantage.

Then came the fall of Tripoli and Gaddafi went into hiding, still claiming his people were behind him and promising success against the "occupiers" and "collaborators". His dictatorial regime had finally crumbled, but many feared that he might remain at large to orchestrate an insurgency. He met his ignominious and grisly end, when NTC forces found him hiding in a tunnel following a Nato air strike on his convoy as he tried to make a break from his last stronghold, the city of Sirte, where it had all begun.

The exact circumstances of his death remain in dispute, either "killed in crossfire", summarily executed, or lynched and dragged through the streets by jubilant, battle-hardened fighters. Though it meant the Libyan people - and other victims around the world - were robbed of proper justice, the news sparked wild celebrations across his former domain that nearly 42 years of rule and misrule had truly come to a close.

Early promise. 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.

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