Libya could fall into hands of extremists, Nato warns

Mr Jalil, who only arrived in his new capital on Saturday, made his first public speech in Martyrs’ Square - once Col Gaddafi’s “Green Square” - last night.

“We are a Muslim people, for a moderate Islam, and we will stay on this road,” he said. His formulation suggested that Libya would follow neighbours such as Egypt in allowing room for secular freedoms.

But there are already signs that the rebel leadership is split over a variety of issues including the future role of the Islamist militias which played a significant part in the revolution.