The news from Libya these past days following the death of Muammar Gaddafi have been more like horror films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre than anything else.

We first had the shaky images of the few moments between Gaddafi’s capture, his being beaten about and bodily attacked and then the ghoulish images of him dead, with the many questions this led to – whether he died, as NTC said, from being hit in cross-fire, or because he was summarily executed.

Then there were the ghoulish images of queues of Libyans trooping in to see the dead Gaddafi laid out on the floor and all covered in blood. Until Saturday the corpse was left half-naked but then yesterday it was covered with a blanket leaving only the head visible and even this had been turned so that the bullet hole in the throat was no longer visible. These last changes are compatible with the reports that an autopsy had been carried out during the night.

The outside world cannot look upon these images without being alarmed.

First of all, there is the not inconsequential issue of whether he was killed during a gun battle or whether he was summarily executed. The world understands that the situation at ground level during the entire uprising and even more so in the final stages of the attack on Sirte was out of control. There was supposed to be some sort of army structure but it was pretty much informal and the fighters’ ranks were swelled in the final stages by people who just happened to join in when the outcome was quite clear and who were quite clearly outside any control.

With so many people being killed by the Gaddafi regime over these past 42 years, not just since 17 February, many people had scores to settle. Time and again, Gaddafi could have surrendered and offered himself up to the judgement of the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Instead, he called the rebels ‘rats’ and threatened to seek them ‘alley by alley’, he gave weapons to anyone who wanted them and he ordered mass executions and reprisals. The victims of Zawiya, for one, come to mind, where Gaddafi’s tanks demolished a mosque and even the central square which had been turned into a mass burial spot.

As for the burial, it is true that the tradition of Islam is to bury the dead as soon as possible. The longer the burial is delayed, the more ghoulish it became – that long procession of Libyans, some with children, all with mobile phones filing past the corpse on the ground.

One reason for the delay may be the internal controversies within NTC as to how, where and when to bury him. Clearly, what must be avoided is to bury him in a place that can become the focus of rebellion and of nostalgics. The US team may have done better by burying Osama bin Laden quickly and at sea where no monument can be erected.

It is equally clear that the situation in Libya, though they may declare freedom from the tyrant, is still not free from tension and possible instability. One must understand, first of all, that Libya without Gaddafi is just that – a Libya without Gaddafi. But he had been very careful over the past 42 years to leave Libya in a state lacking proper institutions – no real army, no real police force, no real systems of justice, of course no real democratic institutions.

All these still have to be set up, slowly, from the ground up.