Reply #22: Libya coalition tries to help rebels raise funds

[joshcryer]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/libya-idUKLDE7432LY20110504">Libya coalition tries to help rebels raise funds
ROME, May 5 (Reuters) - Ministers from the NATO-backed coalition against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi meet in Rome on Thursday seeking ways to get money to rebels who are desperate to buy food and medicine and shore up their administration.

As the conflict in Libya has ground into stalemate, the rebel Transitional National Council, which controls the region of eastern Libya around Benghazi and has been recognised by both France and Italy, has appealed for loans of up to $3 billion.

But efforts to unblock state assets frozen in overseas accounts, or to allow the rebels to get past U.N. sanctions that prevent their selling oil on international markets, have been held up.

"It's not easy. There are Libyan assets that are frozen and for legal reasons unfreezing them is difficult," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told France 24 television on Wednesday.