An end of Col. Qazafi in Libya.

Colonel Gaddafi is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, but the National Transitional Council is unlikely to agree to his extradition. Their information minister is quoted as demanding a Libyan trial:

We are going to give him the fair trial he never gave the Libyan people. We hope that we are catching some big names so we can put them in the court and let the people have the last word on their fate

If the reports of Gaddafi’s death are true (and they may not be: the US cannot even confirm his capture yet), it will make some things easier between the Libyans and their Western allies. It solves the problem of where he will be tried, and by whom. If he is still alive, we have months of wrangling and undignified negotiation yet to come, and – notwithstanding the assurances above – the prospect of a Saddam Hussein-style show trial. On the other hand, if he is alive we also stand a greater chance of finally establishing the truth about Lockerbie, the killing of WPc Yvonne Fletcher and many other crimes. Either way, the end of this man’s brutal dictatorship has arrived, and not before time.