Tripoli , Libya ( CNN ) -- Libyan militias surrendered their Tripoli bases to the military on Thursday , nearly a week after growing public anger over the presence of armed groups in the capital sparked deadly clashes . In a series of ceremonies across the coastal city , militias from Tripoli as well as smaller towns such as Zintan handed over their bases to the authorities , including the Ministry of Defence and Libyan air force . These included the Mitiga airbase , as well as the Islamic Call Center . Public anger has been growing over the armed groups ' refusal to disarm in the two years since they toppled the North African country 's longtime leader , Moammar Gadhafi . Last Friday , Tripoli residents marched on the headquarters of militias from the city of Misrata . The militia opened fire on unarmed demonstrators , unleashing heavy clashes that left 47 people dead and more than 500 injured in the worst violence in the city in two years . Misrata militias withdrew from Tripoli earlier this week , but it was not immediately clear where the militias that handed over their bases on Thursday would go . They include a number of powerful and heavily armed groups . Other groups remain in Tripoli . Government officials attending the ceremonies nonetheless praised the handover as a major step toward building the Libyan state and its security forces . During a press conference at one of the ceremonies , Prime Minister Ali Zeidan lashed out at a reporter who asked whether the government had guarantees the handovers were real , and not ceremonial . `` We are not joking here , we are not in a theater to be acting '' Zeidan said . `` We are serious about this . ... We have a duty to fulfill and we will fulfill it God willing . The weapons that were in the hands of these groups was the security threat and now this threat has disappeared '' . While many Libyans welcomed the move toward disarming militias , the real impact on the ground has yet to be seen . In a country still awash with weapons , Libya 's fledgling state security forces remain outgunned by former rebel fighters . Zeidan 's government is struggling to assert its authority . Zeidan was himself briefly abducted by militiamen last month .
Last week , the worst violence in the capital in two years left 47 dead . Country has been awash in militias since Moammar Gadhafi 's overthrow . Comment: