That's the thing, he didn't fire at civilians, and the story is so fucking wild it's hard to believe. The US and the UK organized the coup with well-known Afghan and Iraqi terrorists. They overwhelmed a small protest over a settlement in a 15-year-old case and began raping, beheading, etc. Libyans. The military intervened because the country was under attack, and when Gaddafi said he'd hunt them down, he meant the terrorists.

Libya was a socialist nation with direct democracy, and I couldn't find enough information about the public committees to understand how "free" they were. Some Libyans stated the people ruled, and Gaddafi was the Brother Muslim (or some nickname like that). The media said repression was rampant, yet didn't explain any further.

I don't know what life was like under Gaddafi, but from reading both narratives it seems like he focused on creating a United Africa and wasn't around very much for the last decade. Until 2000 (or so), the US sanctioned the country and stagnated oil profits through flooding the market. Some Libyans felt the nation should have been wealthier, but the sanctions hindered growth.

Honestly, life in Libya sounded way better under sanctions than life for many Americans right now. We change leaders but nothing changes while Libya has one leader for 42 years and had gender equality, universal health care, free education, an irrigation system to supply farmers and people with water, and homes for all initiatives. Jesus, they even treated immigrants better than the West. I forgot about that.