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TRIPOLI, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- A graduation ceremony was held here Tuesday for 400 new Libyan special forces members who will be deployed to guard important figures and institutions throughout the country.

"900 civilians involved in security service have been trained. After that, 400 members of special operations missions have graduated," Captain Hatem Al-Gamati, the spokesman of the special forces, told Xinhua.

The trainees took five months of theoretical lessons and hard field exercises, Al-Gamati said, stressing that the tasks of the special forces include protecting state institutions. He also said work points and tasks will be expanded in the future.

Attended by Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Serraj and other security and military leaders, the ceremony was held in the Tripoli Maritime Base.

Since the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011, the Libyan authorities have been struggling to prepare and form security services capable of countering armed militias, which outgun the regular forces.