Tripoli, Oct 4 : Libya''''s new leaders have claimed that the war against fallen dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has been won, and that a new transitional government has been appointed in the country under Mahmoud Jibril, who has been acting as Libya''''s de facto Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister on behalf of the rebels.

The new government is of the opinion that the war has been won despite the fact that heavy fighting is still going on in former leader Muammar Gaddafi''''s hometown of Sirte. Reports suggest that Bani Walid is still under the control of pro-Gaddafi forces, The Guardian reports.

The declaration and the formation of a new government, with elections planned after eight months, are intended to bring an end to an increasingly dangerous political vacuum in Libya.

The interim Prime Minister, Mahmoud Jibril, and the head of the National Transitional Council (NTC), Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, are reportedly planning to step down. The NTC constitution specifies that no temporary government figures should serve in any future elected Libyan government.

The whereabouts of Gaddafi and two of his sons are not known, although there are speculations that they are hiding in Libya. (ANI)