Libyan rebels are learning to fight like soldiers, but many opponents of Col Muammar Gaddafi are expert with the pen and brush – and are eager to take aim at Libya's authoritarian leader for the last 40 years.

Caricatures of the Libyan leader have sprung up all across the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, in the east of the country.

The detested strongman's many eccentricities make him a perfect target for satire, says Rory Mulholland, a reporter with French news agency AFP, who took these pictures in May.

Mr Mulholland says he was keen to document the spontaneous outpouring of art - a visual manifestation of Libya’s new-found freedom of expression.

The works are varied - this one seeming to draw inspiration from celebrated British graffiti artist Banksy.

And they are not limited to traditional media - digital artists, using their Photoshop skills, have jumped on board too.

Some of the street art is aspirational - "Free Libya" is a common slogan - and some show a blood-thirsty Gaddafi slaughtering or robbing his people.

But mostly, it simply and gleefully mocks the flamboyant strongman, says Mr Mulholland.

Some of the work is poignant, expressing aspirations common across the region.