Muammer Gaddafi’s brutal regime passed into the annals of history with his flight from Tripoli two months ago; his death near Sirte on Thursday finally released Libya from the bloody limbo in which it has since been stuck. It is undeniably a moment of catharsis for the country he oppressed for 42 stultifying years, and a spark of encouragement for those in the Middle East still struggling to escape the grasp of tyranny. But it also brings into sharper focus the challenges facing Libya’s interim leadership.

Despite the understandable euphoria in Sirte, it might perhaps have been better had Col Gaddafi been captured alive and forced to stand trial. He had much to answer for: both at home, where thousands of Libyans were tortured and executed under his despotic rule; and abroad, where despite earning praise for giving up weapons of mass destruction in 2004, he sponsored terrorism in Spain, Germany and Northern Ireland. A trial would have offered his victims justice and closure.

However, Col Gaddafi’s death at least has the merit of depriving the remnants of the old regime of a figurehead to rally round. That may make the challenge of rebuilding Libya, which now faces the country’s fledgling National Transitional Council, a little easier.