Reuters:
The eastern city of Benghazi, the cradle of revolt against Muammar Gaddafi, was alive with celebration on Wednesday with thousands out on the streets, setting off fireworks and condemning the Libyan leader.
Jubilant rebels and supporters thronged the city center, waving red, green and black monarchy-era flags and giving out snacks and juice to passing cars, which honked their horns in a giant party. People danced, cheered and played loud music.
Anti-Gaddafi protesters hung effigies with "Mercenaries" written on them from lamp-posts, saying paid gunmen from Africa were sent by Gaddafi to try to suppress them. "Libya is Free! Libya is Free!," they chanted. "Allahu Akbar (God is Great)."
Alongside charred buildings scarred by the violence, one man held up a picture of Gaddafi's head grafted on to a pig's body as trucks full of exuberant opponents of the Libyan leader screeched around the streets of "Free Benghazi."
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A lawyer in Benghazi said a security committee formed by civilians there on Monday had arrested 36 "mercenaries" from Chad, Niger and Sudan who were hired by Gaddafi's elite Praetorian Guard to fight in the city.
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The mercenaries were a sign of the weakness of the regime and its government forces. While Benghazi is a significant trading port for the country, the oil wells nearby are a source of revenue no longer available to the regime. The isolation of Tripoli and the government forces will evidently have to be pressed to conclusion to get rid of the despot.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
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