"Weapons in the hands of the people" reads the slogan on the facade of the former intelligence headquarters in the Libyan capital, but for the three men guarding the complex it has only come true since Moamer Kadhafi's fall.

All three proudly display their Kalashnikov assault rifles, obtained from the building behind them as the capital was overrun by the forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC) last month.

The slogan was parroted by Kadhafi's regime, enshrined in the philosophy of his Green Book which stated that "power, wealth and weapons should be in the hands of the people."

"Kadhafi proclaimed it, but he only distributed arms to those who were loyal to him," said Mohammed Abu Abed al-Malek, a driver by profession.

"The first thing we did on taking this complex was break into the armoury and distribute the weapons in the district," recalled Mohammed Maadi, who normally keeps a cafe.

"We attacked the complex armed only with three rifles but we managed to take it on August 20," added Issam Miludi, a shopkeeper dubbed "the monster" by the men under his command.

The result is that Tripoli is awash with weapons, which is causing potential problems to the new rulers.

On roadblocks across the city teenagers and sometimes even children check passing traffic with pistols in hand or Kalashnikov assault rifles slung on their shoulders.

And at night the Mediterranean capital echoes to bursts of automatic gunfire, which could either be in continued celebration of victory, or skirmishes with Kadhafi holdouts.

The new authorities are still debating the question of how to recover the huge quantity of arms that Libyans now possess, whether they are actually engaged in the fighting or not.

"There is a consensus on the issue," the head of the NTC's stabilisation team, Aref al-Nayed, confidently told a press conference on Sunday, while admitting that the situation was complicated.

He said there was no question of calling on fighters to hand in their arms immediately, but instead it was hoped they would do so as police and other formal security services became organised.

The NTC on Saturday announced the creation of a supreme security council tasked with protecting Tripoli, chaired by oil minister Ali Tarhuni.

"The main goal is to protect citizens, as well as public and private establishments, and to eliminate what remains of pro-Kadhafi groups, or what is called the fifth column," Tarhuni said.

He said revolutionary units will temporarily assist in securing the streets of the capital, but would leave the city as soon as the police force, which boasts about 7,000 men, can fully take over.

Interim interior minister Ahmed Darrad told AFP on Friday that Libya's new leaders had called on fighters from elsewhere in the country to leave the capital and go home.

"Tripoli is free and everyone should leave this town and go back to their own towns," he said. "Now the revolutionaries of Tripoli are able to protect their own city."

But NTC head Mustafa Abdel Jalil said Saturday there was no official order for the provincial fighters to leave.

Tarhuni and other officials are counting on the good sense of the people to facilitate the return of weapons to the authorities and are calling on the population to comply.

But no specific weapons collection drive has been announced, and not everyone thinks it is a good idea. After all, Miludi "the monster" pointed out, there is still the "fifth column" to watch out for.

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