Muammar Qadhafi's body was buried overnight in a secret location after several days of being put on display in a market freezer, said a local Libyan military council member on Tuesday.
The source on the Misrata council, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Qadhafi's remains were buried “overnight in a religious ceremony” along with the corpses of his son Mutassim and ex-Defence Minister Abu Bakr Yunis Jaber.
According to guards at the entrance to the market on the outskirts of the city of Misrata, a convoy of four or five military vehicles took away the bodies late on Monday night to an unknown location.
Three religious leaders loyal to Libya's ousted leader prayed and performed a religious ceremony before the burial, the military council member told AFP.
The two sons of the former Defence Minister, brought straight from prison, and his father were present to witness the bodies being picked up from the market, said the source.
“I saw the burial permit. It stated that Qadhafi had two gunshot wounds, one in the head and one in the chest, and that he bore the scars of previous surgical operations,” the source added.
“Undeserved burial”
In Benghazi, a senior official of the National Transitional Council said the burial “took some time” to organise due to a “disconnect between the local [Misrata] council and the NTC”.
“But now he is buried,” interim Oil and Finance Minister Ali Tarhuni told reporters. “He was given a Muslim burial. He didn't deserve it but it was an NTC decision.”
The overnight burials come amid raging controversy over the circumstances of Qadhafi's death after he was taken alive during the fall of his hometown Sirte last Thursday.
Libya's interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said on Monday that a commission of inquiry was to probe the strongman's killing after foreign governments and rights group raised concerns.
“In response to international calls, we have started to put in place a commission tasked with investigating the circumstances of Muammar Qadhafi's death in the clash with his circle as he was being captured,” said Mr. Abdel Jalil. The U.N. human rights office welcomed this announcement.
