Libyan fighters stream home to fanfare, bristling with guns

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Victorious fighters from the final battle of Libya's uprising streamed home to a hero's welcome on Saturday, bristling with weapons they insist will be handed over to authorities now the war is over.

Packed in cars and military transports met by a jubilant crowd in the eastern city of Benghazi, young men unleashed thousands of rounds of ammunition into the air.

As families tossed flowers and children sprayed jets of perfumed water onto the crowd, several fighters questioned by Reuters said they did not plan to keep the guns they carried back from the front at Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, where he was killed on Thursday after being captured.

Mohamed el-Burghati, 24, on a pickup truck with a half-dozen fighters carrying assault rifles, said he was glad the fighting was over and he could return to a normal life as a student.

"The last days in Sirte were a tough fight, but now we're in top form," he said as a convoy of civilian vehicles carrying mounted anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers sped past.

"We want a free and democratic Libya and are ready to lay down our arms once the government asks."

Another Benghazi fighter, Ahmed el-Showedi, 27, said he hoped the young combatants would keep their promises: "God willing, we will collect the weapons from the guys - we've all agreed on this," he said.

"I hope the country will be fine and all the guys return to work."

Libya's interim leaders - the National Transitional Council (NTC) - will announce an official "liberation" from the Gaddafi regime in Benghazi on Sunday, in a ceremony expected to draw a million people from the eastern part of the country where the uprising began last February.

Less clear however is how they plan to collect weapons now in the hands of nearly every household in the country. Governments in the region have expressed concern over the abundance of unsecured arms in Libya, particularly because of its vast, porous borders, and the NTC has said securing the weapons is a priority.

At the victory parade at Benghazi's western gate -- where rebels scored an early victory by repulsing an attack by Gaddafi loyalists early in the conflict -- few flinched at the deafening gunfire, or expressed worries over where the fighters' arms would end up.

"Libyans are not a pro-gun people, they were forced by take up arms by Gaddafi who had threatened to kill them," said Mahmoud el-Arabe, 46, an office worker for the Benghazi building authority.

"I am certain they will give up their weapons once the fight is over -- one brigade I hear has already made this pledge."

For now however, weapons remain part of the celebration - Benghazi echoed with automatic gunfire late into the night.

(Additional reporting by Ahmed El-Shemi and Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Andrew Roche)