The Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) announcement of a new cabinet on Monday may help to resolve the political infighting that has plagued the new government, but battles are still being waged for the future of Libya.
The country's transitional leaders pledged that they would step down once the country is "fully secured," a reference to the ongoing fighting in Qaddafi strongholds such as Sirte and Bani Walid. Meanwhile, in Tripoli, a much different mood predominiates as seen in the irreverent street art celebrating the end of the old regime. In the capital, long-marginalized minority groups, such as the Jewish community, are a renewed presence as the NTC pledges to build an inclusive state. In Benghazi, the NTC's stronghold, volunteers are receiving military training, while Qaddafi loyalists in Tawagarma, fearing for their safety, have fled.
As the new national leadership prepares to declare victory over the last pockets of resistance, Libya continues to struggle to holds its many regions, and factions, together.
Above, NTC fighters run for cover at the frontline in Bani Walid on Oct. 2, as fighting raged against loyalist troops in the desert city.
A house belonging to Qaddafi loyalists in Tawagarma, pictured on Sept. 25, is heavily damaged after days of fighting. The residents of Tawagarma are accused of having played a major role in the bloody siege of nearby Misrata by Qaddafi's forces. The town's entire population has fled in fear of reprisals by the NTC.
The Star of David is seen on the abandoned Dar Bishi synagogue in Tripoli on Sept. 28. The Jewish community in Libya dates back to the third century BC and at its peak numbered around 38,000 people, although it was always the smallest of the Jewish populations in North Africa. Most of the Jewish population left in the two decades following World War II, although several hundred were still living there during Qaddafi's 1969 coup.
The NTC-adopted Libyan flag flies behind the iconic golden-fist monument taken from the Bab Al-Azizya compound in Tripoli, now installed at a military base in Misrata, on Sept. 8. Rebels removed the sculpture, which depicts a golden fist crushing a fighter jet, and took it to Misrata as a symbol of victory over Qaddafi and his forces. The monument was originally commissioned by Qaddafi following the 1986 bombing of Libya by U.S. aircraft.
