Libyans celebrate as country’s six-month conflict nears a close following rebels’ advance on the capital.

Jubilant Libyan rebels have moved from the west into the centre of the capital, Tripoli, as Muammar Gaddafi’s sons and defenders lose their grip on the state.

Thousands of euphoric civilians rushed out of their homes to cheer the long convoys of pickup trucks packed with fighters shooting in the air.

The rebels’ surprising and speedy leap forward, after six months of largely deadlocked civil war, was packed into just a few dramatic hours.

By nightfall on Sunday, they had advanced more than 32km to Tripoli.

1) Libyan rebel fighters walk past a road sign reading Tripoli (top), Zhrah (middle) and Benghazi (bottom) as rebels advance through the town of Maia, 25km west of Tripoli [Reuters]

2) A rebel holds up the rebel-adopted old Libyan flag as they race down a road in a vehicle in Gadayem, west of Tripoli [AFP]

3) A Libyan rebel fighter uses the rebel flag as a cover while resting at a checkpoint near the town of Aziziyah [Reuters]

4) A Libyan rebel fighter steps on a rug woven with the face of Muammar Gaddafi at a checkpoint near the town of Aziziyah [Bob Strong/Reuters]

5) Rebel fighters and civilians ride through the town of Maia celebrating after rebels pushed to within 25km of Tripoli [Reuters]

6) A man places the Libyan rebel flag onto a road barrier as rebels advance through Maia [Reuters]

7) Civilians celebrate rebel gains in Maia [Reuters]

8) Libyan rebel fighters ride through the town of Maia celebrating after advancing onto the outskirts of Tripoli [Reuters]

9) A rebel walks past a smouldering vehicle belonging to pro-Gaddafi fighters after capturing the “Kilometre 27” military base, located 16km west of the centre of Tripoli [AFP]

10) Smoke rises from the skyline in Tripoli [Reuters]

11) Members of the media gather in the corridors of the Rixos amid heavy gunfire ringing outside the Tripoli hotel where most of the foreign press were staying [Reuters]

12) An armed Gaddafi loyalist walks through the Rixos lobby [Reuters]

13) The Libyan state television set is seen abandoned at the Rixos in Tripoli [Reuters]

14) A Libyan reacts to news of rebels claiming to have seized control of Tahrir (‘change’) Square in Tripoli [Bob Strong/Reuters]

15) A Libyan in Benghazi reacts at news of rebels claiming to have seized control of in Tahrir Square in Tripoli [EPA]

16) A Libyan gestures and waves a Kingdom of Libya flag as people gather near the courthouse in Benghazi to celebrate the entry of rebel fighters into Tripoli [Reuters

17) A man lets off fireworks near the courthouse in Benghazi [Reuters]

18) Thousands of people, mostly Libyans, gather and celebrate rebel gains outside the Libyan Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia [EPA] 19) Men hold a cartoon of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Benghazi during celebrations of of rebel fighters’ entry into Tripoli [Reuters]