The Gaddafi era may be over but some Libyans fear fundamentalist groups who have lain dormant through the six-month civil war may get back on their feet and destroy what the freedom fighters have managed to achieve.

“Gaddafi is finished. We’re not concerned about him anymore. But we’re worried that dormant extremists might emerge once Libyans win the battle and settle down,” said lawyer Magda Koukab, who ran away from Libya eight years ago and is now based in Malta.

Hers is a voice of caution amid the jubilation as Tripoli and Gaddafi’s compound fell to the rebels and ordinary Libyans dare to believe that a better future is finally within their grasp.

“These fundamentalist groups do not like development, elections or forgiveness. They will destroy what we’ve built and the international community will not support us anymore. Nato and Europe will most probably deploy people on the ground and Libya will become another Iraq,” she said.

“Every day I pray that Libyans are united and strong enough to fight the extremists off, once these groups wake up.”

Dr Koukab said Libyans want to elect a parliament to govern the country and a president to whom they could provide feedback, and not one from whom they would just take orders.

“We have to start from scratch because most of us know only Gaddafi’s politics. We’re ready to forgive and welcome those who obeyed Gaddafi because they did not know otherwise.”

The woman, who is from Az-Zawiyah and has a daughter there, compared Gaddafi to Adolf Hitler.

“Hitler was actually better than Gaddafi because he did not turn against his own people. Gaddafi has killed his own people and dragged his family into this mess with him.”

She wishes the items found in Gaddafi’s Bab al-Azizia compound could be donated to the Libyan nation.

“Our children and future generations need to know what we went through. They need to see these items to help them understand what their ancestors went through for a free Libya,” Dr Koukab said.

Although the freedom fighters have taken over almost the whole of the capital, there are still a few dangerous pockets of resistance as desperate loyalist forces make what appears to be their last stand.

Abdalla Kablan, a member of the Libyan Solidarity Movement who lives in Malta, has been in contact with his brother in Tripoli who has joined locals and set up roadblocks to preserve order in their neighbourhood.

During his shift on Tuesday he witnessed a shoot-out when two pro-Gaddafi cars passed by and opened fire at the civilians on standby, injuring two of them. The cars were chased and gunfire could be heard in the distance.

On the previous night, residents in a neighbouring area caught three suspicious-looking foreigners as they left a house in the middle of the night and refused to provide identification papers when stopped at the check point. When four sniper guns were found in a search of the house, three of the men confessed they were paid mercenaries.

Another young man in Malta, who goes only by the name of Mohamed for fear of reprisals and who has been in close contact with his family in Tripoli, said the first thing the freedom fighters did in his neighbourhood was to disarm and detain known Gaddafi supporters.

Mohamed, who is a member of the Libyan Youth Movement, said the battle was not over yet.

“This revolution will be complete the moment we capture Gaddafi, his family and those close to him who may still pose a threat to the stability of the country,” he said.

Sharing Mohamed’s sentiment, Dr Kablan said that medical supplies and blood were badly needed especially since more than 3,000 people had been injured in the battle of Bab al-Azizia and other gunfights around the capital on Tuesday.

“My brother went to the hospital to donate blood and he said the scene of casualties there is indescribable. Even Gaddafi soldiers were being brought in by the freedom fighters and treated despite complaints by some locals that they should not be given priority.”

Tripoli and the surrounding cities are also in dire need of food and fuel.

The rebels, in the meantime, are still flocking into the capital. Since the beginning of the week, about 1,200 of their cars have driven in from the mountains to the east of Tripoli.

A freedom fighter, Bel Gasaim from Tripoli, said the international airport area was “considerably calm and safe”, while water and electricity have been restored.

He said rebels had managed to push and trap mercenaries in the vicinity of Abu Slim, a notorious prison where more than 1,200 prisoners were massacred in 1996.

Youssef Lamlum, who also has friends and family in Tripoli, said the rebels had gained ground quickly because they had “six months of training”.

He said Gaddafi has been reduced to mere words as his real power ebbed away. “Gaddafi’s war has turned into a frivolous word game.”