Libya's transitional leaders on Sunday declared their eight-month revolution over, after the fall of the last strongholds of the former government and the death of former leader, Moammar Gadhafi.
Jubilant Libyans poured into public squares like this one in Tripoli, chanting and waving the new Libyan flag. They came to join, from a distance, the official ceremony in Benghazi, in the east, a city that played a key role in the uprising. There officials declared the end of the revolution and the beginning of what is known here as Free Libya.
National Transitional Council leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil thanked the ragtag group of fighters who defeated the forces of Moammar Gadhafi, who had ruled Libya for 42 years.
Mr. Jalil said the country will operate in accordance with Islamic Law, barring banks from charging interest and allowing men to take as many as four wives without getting permission from their first wife, as a Gadhafi era law required.
It is unclear how that will be received by ordinary Libyans, including the many women, who helped in the revolution and came out to celebrate Sunday.
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October 23, 2011
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