The Libyan regime freed 66 detainees Around 300 people, including 66 detainees freed by the Libyan regime in Tripoli arrived in the rebel port of Benghazi on Friday amid jubilant and emotional scenes. International Red Cross ship the Ionis docked at around midday laden with families who have been stranded in Muammar Gaddafi's capital for months.
The passengers received a raucous welcome. Cries of "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) and "Gaddafi out" from the ship's decks were repeated loudly on the quayside, where hundreds had waited for hours in the blistering heat.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said their 22-hour journey was part of a broader exchange negotiated between Libya's two warring factions.
Some 110 people will now travel in the other direction.
"These civilians have been cut off from their relatives for four months now, unable to cross front lines because of the fighting," said Paul Castella, head of the ICRC delegation in Tripoli.
"Most of the people we are transferring are Libyans who were working away from their home towns or visiting relatives or friends when the conflict broke out. They are very eager to rejoin their families," he added.
The exchange is a rare sanctioned flow of people across the frontline and points to limited contacts between the two sides, albeit via an intermediary.
But the politics was secondary for many at the dock, including 14-year-old Ali Yussef, who became something of a mascot for the crowd.
The teenager was waiting for his father, whom he had not seen since before his capture on March 19 by Gaddafi's forces.
Hoisted onto the roof of a fire engine, the teenager grabbed a loudhailer to chant rebel slogans, prompting his father to rush to the deck rail, shouting proudly "That's my son!"
But it was not a happy day for everyone. Mohammed Trapulse, 35, was devastated to see that his younger brother Issam, a fellow fighter who was captured on March 13, was not on the ship's manifest after all.
"I have to keep waiting," he said, before dashing off to seek out news from one of his brother's friends who was on board.
Outside the port there was some apprehension among Benghazi residents that Gaddafi spies had infiltrated the Ionis, and disbelief that the man who ruled the country with an iron fist for 41 years would make such a gesture.
But the Red Cross said the identities and backgrounds of all the passengers had been checked.
"We had a very transparent dialogue with both sides of the conflict... we submitted lists, they were screened and they green-lighted the names of the people," ICRC spokeswoman Dibeh Fakhr said.
The Ionis, which is registered in Kingstown, Saint Vincent, will now return to Tripoli, the ICRC said, adding that the ship will make three rotations between the rival Libyan cities.
According to the United Nations, around 243,000 people have been displaced by the war and 650,000 more have left Libya.