Rebels celebrate in Benghazi as their fighters take control of capital

(22 Aug 2011) 1. Wide of celebrations in front of the Benghazi Court House 2. Mid of crowd jumping up and down cheering 3. Wide of crowd 4. Wide of light flare with crowd 5. Mid of light flare with crowd 6. Close-up of people cheering 7. Mid of celebrations 8. Close-up of rebel flag 9. Mid of Screen with Al-Jazeera Arabic Channel broadcasting 10. Mid of Fireworks in the sky 11. Mid of crowd with sparklers 12. Pan of celebrations 13. Close-up of rebel flag and Berber flag 14. Mid of celebrations 15. Wide of celebrations STORYLINE: Supporters of the Libyan rebel force celebrated outside Benghazi''s court house as the opposition force entered the capital Tripoli with little resistance from the army of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Thousands of euphoric Libyans lit flares and fireworks, chanted and jumped up and down in the city, which has been a rebel stronghold since the Libyan civil war began six months ago. Libyan rebels raced into the capital Tripoli on Sunday and reached its centre square early on Monday morning, as Moammar Gadhafi''s defences collapsed and his regime appeared to be crumbling fast. Associated Press reporters with the rebels said they moved easily from the western outskirts into the regime stronghold in a dramatic turning of the tides in the civil war. Sky News showed pictures of thousands of Libyans celebrating the rebels arrival in symbolic Green Square. Green Square has been the site of night rallies by Gadhafi supporters throughout the uprising. Early on Monday morning the square was full of celebratory gunfire aimed skyward and a pro-Gadhafi poster was destroyed by bullets. A rebel leader said the unit in charge of protecting Gadhafi and Tripoli had surrendered and joined the revolt, allowing the opposition force to move in freely. Earlier in the day, the rebels overran a major military base defending the capital, carted away truckloads of weapons and raced to Tripoli with virtually no resistance. Gadhafi''s whereabouts were unknown. But he delivered a series of angry and defiant audio messages broadcast on state television. He was not shown in the messages. In the latest one, he acknowledged that the opposition forces were moving into Tripoli and warned the city would be turned into another Baghdad. Opposition leaders at one point claimed Gadhafi''s son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, had been arrested, but they later backtracked and said this was not yet confirmed. The rebels'' surprising and speedy leap forward, after six months of largely deadlocked civil war, was packed into just a few dramatic hours. By nightfall, they had advanced more than 20 miles (32 kilometres) to Tripoli. Thousands of jubilant civilians rushed out of their homes to cheer the long convoys of pickup trucks packed with rebel fighters shooting in the air. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...