There are celebrations across Libya tonight following the death of Muammar Gaddafi.

Rebel freedom fighters shot the former leader after he was found hiding in a drain in his home town of Sirte.

We warn viewers may find some of the following images distressing.

Lucy Emlyn-Jones reports.

TRANSCRIPT

He ruled a nation with an iron fist for more than four decades, and now Moamar Gaddafi’s reign of terror is finally over and the dictator is dead.

It is a historic moment for the African nation.

Libyans on the streets of Tripoli and Sirte fired automatic weapons into the air and danced for joy.

Wild celebration has erupted across the county as civilians experience liberation from terror and oppression.

Reports from Libya’s National Transitional Council said Gaddafi was captured after he was found hiding in a cement drainpipe during the battle at Sirte.

Amateur video shows Libyan fighters closing in, then emerging with Gaddafi wounded and bloodied, but still alive.

Interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril said Gaddafi died from a bullet wound to the head after being caught in a crossfire between revolutionaries who and his own supporters.

Rebel fighters paraded his bloody corpse, the ultimate humiliation.

Julia Gillard, Prime Minister: “This is a day of triumph for the human spirit in Libya.”

Tony Abbott, Opposition Leader: “The hope now must be that the people of Libya can enjoy a relatively free and fair society.”

Libya now faces the grim reality of rebuilding a democratic nation.

Omar Turbi, US-Libya relations expert: “Libya hasn’t had much experience with civil society or respect for human life.”

Marc Ginsberg, Former Us Ambassador to Morocco: “How do you begin rebuilding all of this and teaching Libyans what these institutions could do for them?”

The party in Libya will continue for a number of days but the task ahead, bringing peace and stability to the nation, will take much longer.

Lucy Emlyn-Jones, QUT News.