Ahmad Ghargory, commander of a revolutionary brigade, said the area will be turned into a public park.

"It's the revolutionary decision to tear down this symbol of tyranny," Mr Ghargory said. "We were busy with the war, but now we have the space to do this."

Already, Libyans have turned the courtyard in front of Gaddafi's former house, which he used for many fiery speeches trying to rally supporters during the uprising, into a weekly pet market. Tripoli residents roam the premises as if at a museum, with vendors selling revolutionary flags and other souvenirs.

The Bab al-Aziziya compound had been a mystery to most Libyans. Though it is one of the city's largest landmarks, no streets signs indicate where it is. Few ever entered, and many Tripoli residents said they wouldn't even walk nearby, fearing security guards on the compound's high green walls would get suspicious and arrest or shoot them.

"I was never able to enter this building or even pass by these walls before. We won't have any more walls in our lives," Mr Ghargory said.

The compound was one of the main targets for Nato air strikes during the months leading to Gaddafi's ouster in late August.

Libyan fighters overran the area on Aug. 23 during fierce fighting for the capital, jubilantly rampaging through the remnants of barracks, personal living quarters and offices seen as the most defining symbol of Gaddafi's nearly 42-year rule.

Gaddafi's residence, now gutted and covered with graffiti, was also targeted in a U.S. bombing raid in April 1986, after Washington held Libya responsible for a blast at a Berlin disco that killed two U.S. servicemen. A sculpture of a clenched fist crushing a U.S. fighter jet that had been erected after the strike has been removed.