The reported death of Col. Moammar Gadhafi marks the end of an era of repression and despotism, and opens the way for a new democracy, the top European Union leaders said Thursday.

"The reported death of Moammar Gadhafi marks the end of an era of despotism and repression from which the Libyan people have suffered for too long. Today, Libya can turn a page in its history and embrace a new democratic future," the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said in a joint statement.

Libyan rebel fighters said earlier Thursday that they captured Gadhafi during a final push to seize control of the former leader's hometown of Sirte and that the former dictator had died in custody, but the claims haven't yet been confirmed by the country's transitional authority or its Western allies.

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