ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION
Libyan conscripts in Benghazi celebrate the first anniversary of their victory over forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.
Hundreds of Libyan army conscripts on Monday (March 19) participated in a military parade to mark the first anniversary of their triumph when rebel fighters managed to push back forces loyal to the-then leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who attacked the outskirts of the city of Benghazi a year ago on this date.
For the first time in their civil war against Gaddafi's 42-year-old autocratic regime Libyan rebels used a fighter jet to battle against a convoy of tanks and armed vehicles belonging to pro-Gaddafi forces.
The military convoy, which was planned to encroach on Benghazi, cradle of last year's "February 17 Revolution", encountered fierce resistance.
About 170 rebel fighters died in the clashes during which they repulsed the pro-Gaddafi forces.
"On this day, everything became so clear to Libyans and also to the entire world that the regime of the currently buried Gaddafi is collapsing. Up to 170 martyrs sacrificed their lives in this place to protect five million of Libyans, to protect Libya and its generations until doomsday," the ex-rebel military spokesperson, Ahmed Bani, told Reuters.
Some of Libyan air force commanders constructed a memorial plaque outside the University of Benghazi to commemorate the death of the rebel fighters who were killed in March 19, 2011.
