Washington: The US has stopped short of recognising Libya’s National Transitional Council as the country’s legitimate government. The statement comes after the first visit to the White House by a senior member of the rebel council, which is pushing for international support.
Earlier, Col Muammar Gaddafi taunted Nato troops in an audio message on state TV, saying he was in a place where they “cannot reach” him.
State media says 11 Muslim clerics have been killed in a Nato air strike.
Mahmoud Jibril, deputy leader of the Benghazi-based National Transitional Council (NTC), met officials at the White House on Friday, including National Security Adviser Tom Donilon.
In a statement, the White House said Donilon had told Jibril that the US viewed the council as “a legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people”.
The US and Britain have not recognised the NTC as the true government of Libya – in contrast to France, Italy and Qatar.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Thursday that such a step would be “premature”.
The US has said it is up to the Libyans to decide their government, not foreign powers.
There was some encouragement on Friday, however, for rebel hopes of accessing seized Libyan regime assets.
Carney said the US was working with Congress to unblock some of the more than $30bn (£18.5bn) in frozen funds, so it could be used to aid the rebels.
Six large blasts – believed to have been Nato air strikes – were heard in the Libyan capital Tripoli late on Friday and early on Saturday morning.
They followed Libyan state TV’s broadcast of an audio message by Col Gaddafi, pouring scorn on the alliance.
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