World leaders are congratulating the Libyan people on the start of a new era following the announced death of former Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, traveling in Afghanistan, told Fox News that confirmation of Gadhafi's death would be a “sigh of relief.” She separately told CBS News that while significant, Gadhafi's death would not likely bring an end to the fighting in Libya.
U.S. Senator and former Republican party presidential candidate John McCain issued a statement Thursday, saying Gadhafi's death “marks an end to the first phase of the Libyan revolution.” He called on the U.S., its European allies and Arab partners to strengthen their support for the Libyan people.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Gadhafi's death “marks a historic transition for Libya.” He also called on all combatants to lay down their arms, warning the country can only “realize the promise of the future by national unity and reconciliation.”
European nations also hailed Gadhafi's fall.
Both French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the death was a way to move forward toward a democratic Libya. Ms. Merkel also said Germany is “relieved and very happy.”
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reacted to reports of Gadhafi's death by saying that now, “the war is over.”
European Union President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso issued a joint statement. They said the reported death of the former Libyan leader “marks the end to an era of despotism and repression.”
EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton called the fall of Sirte and Gadhafi's demise the end of an era, saying it “brings closure to a tragic period in the lives of so many Libyans.”
Back in Washington, former U.S. envoy Marc Ginsberg told VOA this is a “real time of healing” in Libya. He called the capture of Sirte and the killing of Gadhafi an NTC “victory” that is crucial for Libyans to believe their interim leaders are a “coherent governing authority.”
