Shocking new video shows Gaddafi's body 'being used by rebels as ghoulish ventriloquist's doll'

A gruesome new video which appears to show Muammar Gaddafi's dead body being abused by rebels has surfaced online.



In the shocking clip, which was posted to YouTube on Monday, high-spirited demonstrators apparently use the Libyan dictator's corpse as a ventriloquist's doll.



The footage came to light after a Syrian activist linked to it on Twitter, aiming a threat at Syria's leader Bashar Al Assad.

Warning: graphic content

Horrific: This still from a YouTube video appears to show the dead body of Muammar Gaddafi on October 20 last year

The minute-long video, whose authenticity cannot be independently verified, seems to have been filmed on October 20 last year, the day Gaddafi was captured and killed by rebel troops.



It shows a confused scene of celebration as young men shout and cheer next to a van containing an apparently dead body which resembles the dictator.

The corpse is topless and covered in blood, and is apparently limp.



One rebel grabs its head and manipulates it while talking in Arabic, apparently mocking the dead leader.



Gruesome: The footage provides a clear look at the dictator's corpse

Several of those on the scene are seen filming the proceedings with their cell phones.



Gaddafi's body is then taken out of a van and placed on some sort of stretcher.



After the video was posted online, Syrian anti-government prosestor Sami Al Hamwi wrote about it on Twitter, adding: 'Someone needs to send this to Assad.'



Stepping down: After a bloodless coup in 1969, Muammar Gaddafi stepped down from direct leadership in 1977. He is pictured in the same year with Cuban leader Fidel Castro

Heavily decorated: Gaddafi pictured in an ostentatious military uniform in 2009, watching a parade to mark the 40th Anniversary of the Libyan Revolution

The clip, which was subsequently featured on the Huffington Post , is the clearest look so far at the grisly chaos surrounding Gaddafi's death.



Its release comes less than two weeks after Libya's first democratic elections, which appear to have handed a victory to secular liberal forces.

Muammar Gaddafi ruled the Libyan Arab Republic after wresting control from King Idris in a bloodless coup in 1969.

He stepped down from direct leadership in 1977 and became 'Brother Leader' in a largely symbolic role until his death in 2011.

Spoils of war: As Gaddafi and his family fled their palatial compound and other residences, rebel forces took advantage of the possessions left behind. Two rebel soldiers are seen here in the bedroom of Gaddafi's farm house in Abu Grein

Protests against Gaddafi began in February 2011, following uprisings in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia.

Despite attempts by Gaddafi loyalist forces to put down the protests, they escalated into a civil war that eventually led to Nato-led intervention.

U.S. and Nato warplanes enforced a no-fly zone over the country and began bombing missions against Gaddafi forces to protect unarmed civilians.

Nato bombing: After a coalition of forces stepped in to end the civil war in Libya, Gaddafi's grip on the country was finally broken

The end: After a particularly brutal fight in the city of Sirte, Gaddafi was wounded, captured and executed on October 20, ending a reign of more than 40 years

Rebel forces set up government, called the National Transitional Council (NTC), and the assets of Gaddafi and his family were frozen as Interpol and the International Criminal Court issued warrants for his arrest.

The Libyan civil war effectively played out in the city of Sirte, where NTC forces surrounded the city and closed in on the last major pocket of Gaddafi resistance.

Gaddafi was captured alive in Sirte after an attempt to flee the city was thwarted by a Nato bombing mission.