LIFE IS beginning to take on some semblance of normality in Tripoli.
Uniformed police have returned to some areas, and street sweepers could be seen yesterday picking up litter and spent cartridges from celebratory gunfire on the city’s landmark Martyrs’ Square, known under Gadafy as Green Square.
Rebel fighters have begun to remove roadblocks in some areas as they further secure the city.
Tripoli residents are still suffering from water, power and fuel shortages, however.
At one filling station, the queue for petrol stretched 1km. More shops have opened in recent days and supplies are being gradually replenished. “The situation is getting better,” said Mahmoud Isaidi, an engineer walking through the Souq al-Daharaa district. “Things are returning to normal, but coping with little water or food is no problem as long as we have gotten rid of Gadafy.”
His brother, Bashir, nodded in agreement. “With Gadafy on the run, today is better than yesterday, and tomorrow will be even better again. We’ll take it step by step.”
The National Transitional Council, considered Libya’s interim government, has said schools will reopen on September 17th, despite damage to some of them in the fighting and non-existent public transport.
Libya’s new leadership reaffirmed its commitment to democracy as it worked on how to spend billions of dollars released from frozen Gadafy assets. A day after international powers met in Paris and agreed to hand over more than $15 billion (€10.56 billion) to the rebels, the European Union rescinded a range of sanctions, and rebel council officials told financiers of their initial rebuilding plans.
The council’s London representative said righting the damage from decades of one-man rule and the civil war should not wait until Gadafy was found and remaining armed support for him defeated.