( CNN ) -- The death of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi , who was killed Thursday in his hometown of Sirte , Libya , is `` an important step '' for Libya , but do n't expect the fighting to end right away , said CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman . Wedeman , the first Western television reporter to enter and report from inside Libya during the war , talked about how Gadhafi 's life ended and what his death means for Libya 's future and the civil war . Q : There are reports that Gadhafi was hiding in a hole , possibly a sewer or drainage ditch , like former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein before he was captured . It does n't seem like Gadhafi 's M.O . What do you make of this ? Ben Wedeman : We understood when he left Tripoli in August that he left with a large entourage , with lots of cash ... and a lot of weapons . And for him to end up basically in the same sort of spider hole that Saddam Hussein did seems a bit odd , a bit out of character . When I was there , we were hearing all sorts of reports : that he was in Bani Walid -- that was the explanation for the level of resistance there -- that he was in an oasis in the southern part of the country , and that he could be in Sirte . So it 's a bit of a surprise the way he , in theory , met his end . He was not somebody that people expected to really go this early . Let 's not forget that Baghdad , for instance , in the case of Iraq , it fell in late April ( 2003 ) ( and ) Saddam Hussein was not caught until December of 2003 . It was expected that Gadhafi could be able to hold out a bit longer than this . Q : What does Gadhafi 's reported death mean to his loyalists , those fighting the National Transition Council ? And how will the NTC fill the power vacuum left behind by Gadhafi , who ruled Libya for 42 years ? Wedeman : I think perhaps his role as a leader of the anti-NTC insurgency may have been somewhat overstated . I was in parts of Libya where I spoke to lots of people who were opposed to the new rulers of Libya , but not necessarily great supporters of Moammar Gadhafi . There is a worry that this new regime in Libya will be very slow , if ( they ) succeed at all , in moving to democracy . There 's a worry that there 's going to be a lot of revenge , a lot of , basically , lawlessness . Some of the times when we were told that these were Gadhafi loyalists fighting for the leader , it was wrong . They were actually people defending their homes , afraid that their homes would be looted , and we have seen instances where looting has been a serious problem . So Gadhafi ... was a rallying point for a certain element of the opponents of the new regime in Libya . But he was n't necessarily leading all of them . Q : Does that mean you think those loyal to Gadhafi will continue to fight even after his death ? Wedeman : We have to realize this has been a complete change of regime , and many of these people ( in the NTC ) have no experience running the country . Yes , it 's an important step along the way , but the killing of Moammar Gadhafi certainly does n't mean that it 's going to be smooth sailing . I mean , all you have to do is look around ( Libya ) : Egypt , the revolution ( took ) only 18 days -- and months , months and months later , it 's still a very unstable and uncertain place . Libya has certain elements working in its favor : a smaller population , a better educated population , lots in the way of natural resources . But no , just because Moammar Gadhafi is gone -- we believe -- does n't mean things are going to be rosy from here on in . Let 's not forget even in Iraq -- and there are huge differences -- the first few months after the fall of Saddam Hussein were relatively quiet . It 's when the new people in power start to exercise that power at every level of society , things can get complicated . There 's been a lot of talk about tribal differences ( in Libya ) We have n't really seen that play out ... but I would not in any sense bet my bottom dollar that Libya will be smooth sailing now that Gadhafi is dead .
CNN 's Gadhafi spoke to CNN about the death of Libya . He was the first Western TV reporter in Libya during this year 's civil war . Do n't expect Western civil war to end after Ben Wedeman 's death , Wedeman says .