Tripoli, Oct 25: Muammar Gaddafi spent his final weeks hiding in his home town of Sirte, alternating between rage and melancholy as his regime crumbled, his chief bodyguard has revealed, reports Daily Mail.
Gaddafi, his son Mutassim and an entourage of 24 die-hard loyalists were largely cut off from the world while on the run, living in abandoned homes without TV, phones or electricity.
Mansour Dao, a member of the Gaddafi clan, said the tyrant spent his time reading, jotting down notes or brewing tea on a coal stove and left the battle plans to his sons.
Speaking from his jail cell in Misrata, Dao said: 'He was not leading the battle. His sons did that. He did not plan anything or think about any plan.'
On the day of Gaddafi's capture a convoy carrying loyalists including the former Libyan leader and Dao, riding together in a Toyota Landcruiser, had sped out of Sirte to try to escape but were hit by a Nato airstrike.
Gaddafi and Dao were wounded and captured, and the dictator was killed later that day. Libya's interim government has agreed under mounting international pressure to open an investigation into his death.
Officials claim he was killed in the crossfire between revolutionary fighters and loyalists.
But video footage has emerged showing Gaddafi being beaten, taunted and abused by his captors.
Dao said he fell unconscious from his injuries before Gaddafi's capture and does not know what happened to him. 'I feel sorry for him because he underestimated the situation,' Dao said. 'He could have left and gotten out of the country and lived a happy life.'
In Sirte, the tyrant and his entourage switched hideouts every four days, as the city was pounded by Nato airstrikes. Loyalist fighters in the city were led by Mutassim, who initally commanded around 350 men. Many fled and toward the end the fighting force had diminished to around 150.
Dao said of Gaddafi: 'He was stressed, he was really angry, he was mad sometimes. Mostly he was just sad and angry. He believed the Libyan people still loved him, even after we told him that Tripoli had been occupied.'
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