In Pictures: The battle for Tripoli

Buoyed by gains in strategically key towns, Libyan opposition forces have pushed forward to Tripoli where there was heavy gunfire and several explosions early on Sunday.

Libyans have taken to the streets celebrating what they call the “zero hour”.

1) Tens of thousands of Libyans celebrated what the rebels claim to be the first uprising in Tripoli against the Gaddafi regime [Gianluigi Guercia/AFP]

 

2) A Libyan woman raises a rifle at freedom square in Benghazi, celebrating news of what rebels claim to be the first uprising in Tripoli against Gaddafi [Gianluigi Guercia/AFP]

 

3) Rebel fighters celebrate after taking control of the coastal town of Sabratha, 65km west of Tripoli [Bob Strong/Reuters]

 

4) Libyan rebels run for cover during fighting against Gaddafi regime forces near the Gadayem forest, west of Tripoli [Filippo Monteforte/AFP]

 

5) Libyan rebels cheer as they drive past a grounded army tank in Az-Zawiyah, some 40km west of Tripoli, one day after the anti-government Libyan opposition claimed the refinery town to be free [Filippo Montefiore/AFP]

 

6) Libyan rebel fighters take cover while fighting for control of Az-Zawiyah against regime forces [Florent Marcie/AFP]

 

7) Rebel fighters react after gaining positions against regime forces in Az-Zawiyah [Florent Marcie/AFP]

 

8) A wall mural depicting Gaddafi government propaganda is pocked with bullet holes after rebel fighters pushed pro-Gaddafi soldiers out of the centre of Az-Zawiyah [Bob Strong/Reuters]

 

9) A man walks through what local residents say is the bombed out ruins of the compound of Abdullah Al-Senussi, head of the Libyan Intelligence Service and brother in law of Muammar Gaddafi, in Tripoli [Paul Hackett/Reuters]

 

10) A building Libyan officials described as a civil engineering office lies flattened after being bombed overnight by NATO forces in Tripoli [Paul Hackett/Reuters]

 

11) A man sits on hollow bricks during the funeral for 14 rebel fighters in Benghazi [Stringer/EPA]

 

12) A Libyan boy sits atop a destroyed Libyan army tank in Az-Zawiyah [Filipo Montefiore/AFP]

 

13) A rebel fighter destroys a poster of Gaddafi found in the administration centre after rebels seized full control of Az-Zawiyah [Bob Strong/Reuters]

 

14) Thousands of people, mostly Libyans, gathered outside the Libyan embassy in Tunis, Tunisia where the Libyan rebels’ flag was hoisted on the roof of a building [Stringer/EPA]