World leaders are congratulating the Libyan people on the start of a new era following the announced death Wednesday of former Libyan leader, Colonel Moammar Gadhafi.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, traveling in Afghanistan, told Fox News that confirmation of Gadhadi'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.

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.”

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reacted to reports of Gadhafi's death by saying that now, “the war is over.”