Libyan rebels celebrate recapture of Ajdabiya - in pictures

Rebels celebrate after taking the city in the first major turnaround for an uprising that once appeared on the verge of defeat Photograph: Anja Niedringhaus/AP

A flag-draped rebel prays at the entrance to the city Photograph: Anja Niedringhaus/AP

Libyan rebels celebrate on a tank destroyed by the international military coalition Photograph: Patrick Baz/AFP

A rebel stands on the site of a coalition air strike Photograph: Patrick Baz/AFP

A rebel gestures with a machete after capturing men believed to be loyal to Gaddafi's forces outside the city Photograph: Anja Niedringhaus/AP

Rebels hold up the flag of the Kingdom of Libya on a destroyed tank Photograph: Patrick Baz/AFP

Children celebrate on top of a car after rebels took the city back from Gaddafi forces Photograph: Anja Niedringhaus/AP

People celebrate at the western gate after forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi fled following coalition air strikes Photograph: Finbarr O'reilly/Reuters

A Libyan rebel points at dead bodies of loyalist troopers at a site bombed by coalition air force in the town of Ajdabiya Photograph: Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images

Rebels celebrate on a destroyed tank Photograph: Patrick Baz/AFP

The burned remains of a truck in the city of Ajdabiya Photograph: AP

A rebel carries rocket-propelled grenades Photograph: Anja Niedringhaus/AP

A Libyan rebel holds the Kingdom of Libya flag as he walks past a burning tank at a site bombed by the coalition air force in the town of Ajdabiya Photograph: Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images

Rebels celebrating on a destroyed tank belonging to the Gaddafi forces at the west gate of Ajdabiya Photograph: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

Men distribute bread from the back of a vehicle in Ajdabiya Photograph: AP