Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Monday blasted NATO's ‘genocidal role’ in toppling Muammar Gaddafi, and decried what he described as the assassination of the late Libyan strongman.
Kadhafi "was seriously wounded by the most modern NATO fighter-bombers that intercepted and damaged his vehicle," Castro wrote in an opinion column that appeared in state-run media.
He "was captured still alive and assassinated by the men that the military organization armed," according to Castro.
"His cadaver has been kidnapped and exhibited as a war trophy, a conduct that violates the most elemental principles of Muslim norms and other religious beliefs prevalent in the world," wrote Castro, 85.
The ageing Cuban leader formally ceded power in 2006 due to health reasons to his younger brother Raul, 80, but has continued in a role as elder statesman.
In the column titled "NATO's Genocidal Role," Castro described NATO as a "brutal military alliance" that "has become the most perfidious instrument of repression known in the history of humanity."
In late April Castro wrote that the "neo-Fascist" NATO-led assault of Libya is "fanning a flame that can burn everyone."
In 1998, Fidel Castro was awarded the Al-Kadhafi International Prize for Human Rights, a prize granted by the late Libyan leader. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Nicaragua's leftist leader Daniel Ortega have also won the award.
In a brief article on Friday, Cuba's official Communist Party newspaper Granma offered a caustic view of the Western response to Kadhafi's death, with especially harsh words for US President Barack Obama.
Cuba has refused to recognize the interim NTC and has withdrawn its diplomats from Tripoli.
Venezuela's Chavez Thursday also described Kadhafi's death as an assassination, and said the ousted Libyan strongman was a "martyr."