After the interim National Transitional Council (NTC) declared that the country had been liberated in October 2011, it began a process to form a new government, prepare for elections and prosecute former Gaddafi officials. In the absence of an organized military, armed militias of former rebels continued to assert their role as "guardians of the revolution" around the country, and there were reports of vigilante justice and sporadic clashes between rival militias. International organizations voiced concerns over the proliferation of weapons in the region, and the risk that they might fall into the hands of militant Islamists.