Libyan rebels won a financial lifeline potentially worth billions of dollars from a group of Western and Arab countries, as NATO planes struck forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in the west.
Ministers from an anti-Gaddafi coalition called the Libya contact group, including the US, France, Britain and Italy, as well as Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, agreed in Rome to set up a fund to help the rebels, who are desperately short of cash.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington would seek to unlock some of the $30 billion of Libyan state funds frozen in the US to help the rebel movement.
A senior US official said Washington hoped to free up a ‘substantial sum’ to meet humanitarian needs but it would only be a small fraction of the $30 billion frozen by Washington.
Italy, host of the Rome meeting, said a temporary special fund would be set up to channel cash to the rebel administration in its stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya.
Kuwait pledged $180 million, while Qatar promised $400-to-$500 million. France said it was evaluating its contribution to the fund, which should be operational within weeks.
In Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, a rebel spokesman said NATO planes struck Gaddafi's forces near weapons depots west of the rebel-held town.
‘Around eight-to-10 missiles landed there. A witness who was near the area confirmed that,’ the spokesman, Abdulrahman, said by telephone. He said the area was 30km from Zintan.
Earlier, Abdulrahman said pro-Gaddafi forces had fired about 50 Russian-made Grad rockets into Zintan.
Near the border with Tunisia, a rebel fighter said there was intense fighting between rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces in the area of the village of Ghezaya.
The village lies between the Dehiba-Wazin border crossing, which is in rebel hands, and the town of Nalut where residents said Gaddafi loyalists had been shelling rebel positions.
Rebels on the border say they are preparing for an attempt by Gaddafi's forces to retake the crossing.
‘There has been intense fighting since this morning at Ghezaya between us and Gaddafi's forces,’ the rebel source said by telephone. ‘There are several dead and injured on both sides.’
