The New York Times is reporting that Libya's transitional government has announced that its fighters have captured Seif al-Islam Qaddafi, the last fugitive son and one-time heir apparent of the slain dictator, Muammar Qaddafi.

In a scene of celebration outstripped only by news of Colonel Qaddafi’s capture and death last month, Tripoli’s streets erupted in revelry. Vehicles clogged intersections, horns blaring, and militiamen shot their rifles into the sky.

Officials here in the capital promised that Mr. Qaddafi would be closely guarded so that he could face trial. But in a troubling echo of Colonel Qaddafi’s capture a month ago, in which he was killed while in the hands of militiamen without ever reaching the capital, the local militias that announced Seif al-Islam’s capture on Saturday suggested they would be the brokers of his fate, at least for now.

“Life is returning to normal,” said Bashir Thaelba, a militia brigade commander who announced Mr. Qaddafi’s capture near Awbari. Mr. Thaelba said that Mr. Qaddafi and three associates had been taken to the western mountain town of Zintan for holding. “We are going to treat him well as a war prisoner.”

The good news is that Seif al-Islam will be kept alive to face justice. A trial will help bring closure to his father's long tortuous rule in Libya. His treatment will be a test for Libya's transitional government and will set the political tone in the post-Qaddafi era. 

Read more at the New York Times.

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