Libya have declared the liberation of the nation after 42 years of one-man rule by Muammar Gaddafi came to an end with his capture and death last week, setting the North African state on course for a transition towards democracy.
"We declare to the whole world that we have liberated our beloved country, with its cities, villages, hill-tops, mountains, deserts and skies," said an official who opened the ceremony in Benghazi, the place where the uprising erupted in February and which has been the headquarters for the National Transitional Council.
Salah el Ghazal, another official who addressed the tens of thousands of people gathered for the celebrations, that Libya was blessed with Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the NTC.
"God has blessed us with the Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who deserves to be the man of the hour," said Mr Ghazal, who is a local official of the NTC.
Crowds listening to Libyan music and waving the tri-colour flag cheered.
Ghazal paid tributes to all those who died, and referred to the "humiliating" death of Gaddafi.
"This is the humiliating end that God wanted to set as example for anyone who practices the worst forms of injustice... against their people," he said.
Autopsy
Meanwhile, Libya's interim government is to hand Gaddafi's body over to his extended family after consulting with them on the location of his burial.
"The decision has been taken to hand him over to his extended family, because none of his immediate family are present at this moment," Ahmed Jibril said.
Gaddafi died from a gunshot wound, a doctor involved in an overnight autopsy on the former Libyan leader's body found.
"He died because of a gunshot wound. It is obvious," the doctor said, giving no details about whether it was from an apparent gunshot wound on the left side of Gaddafi's head.
"There are still several issues. We have to pass (the report) to the prosecutor general. But everything will be revealed publicly. Nothing will be hidden."
Britain's new Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has said the reputation of Libya's new leaders had been "stained" by the killing of Gaddafi
Hammond said he would like to see an investigation into the death of Gaddafi, who was captured alive during the fall of his hometown Sirte on Thursday.
"It's certainly not the way we do things, it's not the way we would have liked it to have happened," he told BBC television.
"The fledgling Libyan government will understand that its reputation in the international community is a little bit stained by what happened."
In Tripoli, residents said they were relieved Gadaffi was killed, not captured, allowing the nation to move forward without fear that his supporters would try to sabotage the transition to democracy.
The transitional leadership has said it would declare a new interim government within a month of liberation and hold elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months, then to organize a parliamentary and presidential vote within a year after that.
The acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, who's resigned ahead of the liberation announcement, said the interim government "should last until the first presidential elections."
