If Syria needs us we will go, says rebel who gave up everything for the cause

Mehdi al Dardaf wasn't keen to talk at first. His long straggly beard and the dark mark on his forehead from years of prostrating himself to the ground in prayer marked him out as a devout Muslim.

"We get orders from God, even if it was not Ramadan, I could not talk to you." But once I covered my head and agreed not to look at his face he agreed to tell his story. Sitting at the wheel of a dusty beige pickup truck mounted with an anti-aircraft gun, the 42-year-old fighter described how he had turned from a restaurant owner and minibus driver in Benghazi to one of the rebels who stormed into Tripoli last Sunday.

When Libya's uprising began over six months ago, he shut up his restaurant and went to join the battle raging outside Gaddafi's military barracks in Benghazi.

"We went there without weapons, we just used stones," he said, describing the days before rebels in surrounding cities were able to provide Benghazi's fighters with Kalashnikovs and other light weapons.

With Benghazi secured in mid-March, he turned his attention to the conflict in Misrata, the west Libyan city besieged by Gaddafi's troops through April and May. "I went to Misrata by fishing boat. We took weapons from military bases in Benghazi and we supported the people of Misrata."

When he finally arrived in Tripoli, the combat was intense. "We entered Green Square without fighting but then we started fighting inside the city and there were lots of people killed by snipers. The first martyr was from Derna," he said, referring to the bastion of conservative Islam in the country. Now his men are one of the brigades holding the city, battling the last remnants of regime resistance. He lives in an army base, where local women cook food for the fighters and take care of them.

"The people here, they are amazing. Everyone said 'Welcome, welcome!' They sacrificed camels for us. They feed us everyday and they give us everything that we want and we are very happy." He described how the women of the Tripoli neighbourhood of Souq El Jumaa cooked meals of pasta and meat and sent them in small packages to fighters at the military bases around the city.

Fresh clothes and underwear are delivered each day in fishing boats from Benghazi. When the men are not awaiting orders from the military command, they enjoy themselves. "We play football, we are joking with each other, we are cleaning our clothes, calling our families, saying our prayers."

Al Dardaf left his two wives in Benghazi along with his sons, Amr Majdi, seven, and Muath, nine. "I don't miss my wives," he said, but added that he called them every day.

He has lost comrades but accepts this as part of the struggle. "It is easy because we are reading Holy Koran every day and that makes us brave."

He was full of optimism for the future. "If any new Gaddafi comes to power again we'll fight again," he said. "Even Tunisia, or any Arab countries, if they want us to help them we will do that and we will help them. Maybe we'll go to Syria. We can get fishing boats and we can go there."

He smiled when asked if he had enjoyed the past six months. "It's like a holiday for me now. Really, I'll miss these days."