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After the drama of their capture and killing of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's new leaders argued over his body on Friday, while Libyans, and the world, awaited the formal launch of a new era of democracy.
The corpse, a bullet wound in the side of the head, was lying in a cold store in an old market area of Misrata, where it was taken after the 69-year-old fugitive strongman was killed in his hometown of Sirte on Thursday.
A local commander said the body would be buried with dignity and full Muslim rites within 24 hours, but the site was not yet determined.
"He will have his rights like any other Muslim, we all say 'There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the prophet of God', so he will be washed, respected and buried in a Muslim cemetery, that's certain," said Abdul-Salam Uleywa, the commander of the brigade currently in charge of guarding Gaddafi's body.
A senior official of the National Transitional Council told Reuters there was division in the upper reaches of the NTC over where Gaddafi's final resting place should be.
Arguments over where and how to dispose of the remains, as well as those of Gaddafi's son Mo'tassim, followed surprise and confusion on Thursday over their capture and deaths and serve as a stark reminder of the challenges facing any new administration in imposing order on a country awash with guns and armed groups.
ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION
After the drama of their capture and killing of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's new leaders argued over his body on Friday, while Libyans, and the world, awaited the formal launch of a new era of democracy.
The corpse, a bullet wound in the side of the head, was lying in a cold store in an old market area of Misrata, where it was taken after the 69-year-old fugitive strongman was killed in his hometown of Sirte on Thursday.
A local commander said the body would be buried with dignity and full Muslim rites within 24 hours, but the site was not yet determined.
"He will have his rights like any other Muslim, we all say 'There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the prophet of God', so he will be washed, respected and buried in a Muslim cemetery, that's certain," said Abdul-Salam Uleywa, the commander of the brigade currently in charge of guarding Gaddafi's body.
A senior official of the National Transitional Council told Reuters there was division in the upper reaches of the NTC over where Gaddafi's final resting place should be.
Arguments over where and how to dispose of the remains, as well as those of Gaddafi's son Mo'tassim, followed surprise and confusion on Thursday over their capture and deaths and serve as a stark reminder of the challenges facing any new administration in imposing order on a country awash with guns and armed groups.
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