( CNN ) -- Just a month ago , members of the Libyan opposition army were civilians of all ages and from all walks of life . Wesam , 22 , was in college . Ahmed , 32 , is a husband , father and an engineer . Adrees , 18 , was studying business . But now , they 're amateur soldiers in the rickety rebel army of Libyan opposition . They say they 're united by one mission -- to topple the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi . Since protests began in earnest in February , there has been no single , unifying figure in charge of the revolt . People of all ages and tribal affiliations have been taking part . One man told CNN that when government forces began using live ammunition against the protesters , it turned the whole community against them . With the rebels pushing west , gaining momentum and territory , a Libya without Gadhafi appears more likely by the day . But whether democracy will follow is far from clear . Libya has long been a patchwork of tribes and rival sects , kept largely intact in the grip of Gadhafi 's autocratic regime . Traditionally , opposition to Gadhafi has been hampered by the fact that Libya 's sense of national identity is `` very weak , '' according to Robert Danin , a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations . Tribal loyalty in the sparsely populated North African country has come first -- which made it tough for Gadhafi 's opponents to present a unified front . A nationwide network of `` social leadership '' committees set up by Gadhafi in 1993 and composed primarily of traditional leaders and tribal leaders could seek to take charge , according to Ronald Bruce St John , who has written seven books on Libya . Gadhafi tried without success to eliminate the more than 100 tribes in Libya between 1969 and 1980 , St John said . In 1993 , he began reinforcing the tribal system and recognizing its leaders as important by creating social leadership positions , St John said . If Gadhafi leaves power , `` those tribal leaders will try to find a way to put together some kind of a new government , '' St John said . `` I think you 'll see the tribes being the ones that will , in the short term anyway , try to find a way through the obvious chaos that 's going to occur . '' So far , leadership for anti-government forces has been a group effort . The National Transitional Council , created in early March , is made up of 31 representatives from across Libya -- local politicians , military officials who switched sides , lawyers , doctors , academics and activists . They have settled on Benghazi as a temporary location until the `` liberation '' of the capital , according to a decree the council issued . The council said its main missions are to represent all of Libya internationally , liberate the country , draft a constitution and hold elections . Opposition leaders know the path to democracy wo n't be easy . But , they say , whoever tries to turn them from their path will face what Gadhafi is facing now . CNN 's Reza Sayah contributed to this report .
Members of Libya 's opposition were civilians just a month ago . Opposition leadership comes from a group of 31 people . Libyan opposition says it is united against Gadhafi .