Libyan opposition says it has oil deal with Qatar

Qatar announced today it has finalized a deal to exchange weapons for oil with Libyan rebels

Published April 1, 2011 1:55PM (EDT)

File - Libya's Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa  reads a statement to foreign journalists at a hotel in  in Tripoli, in this Friday March 18, 2011 file photo.  Libya's foreign minister has left Tunisia for London after a two-day visit shrouded in secrecy, Tunisia's official news agency said Wednesday, March 30 2011. Moussa Koussa traveled on an early afternoon flight on an unidentified Swiss carrier from the Tunisian resort of Djerba toward the British capital, the TAP news agency reported. (AP Photo / Jerome Delay, file)
File - Libya's Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa reads a statement to foreign journalists at a hotel in in Tripoli, in this Friday March 18, 2011 file photo. Libya's foreign minister has left Tunisia for London after a two-day visit shrouded in secrecy, Tunisia's official news agency said Wednesday, March 30 2011. Moussa Koussa traveled on an early afternoon flight on an unidentified Swiss carrier from the Tunisian resort of Djerba toward the British capital, the TAP news agency reported. (AP Photo / Jerome Delay, file)

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) -- A Libyan opposition official says the tiny Arab nation of Qatar has agreed to a deal that will give the rebels money for weapons and other items in exchange for the oil they control.

Ali Tarhouni, who handles finances for the opposition's National Transitional Council, said Friday that Qatar has agreed to market oil currently in storage in parts of southeastern Libya controlled by rebels seeking the ouster of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Tarhouni didn't say when the deal was signed or when oil shipments will begin. He says one sticking point is how to truck the oil out of the country.

Tarhouni says money from oil sales will be put into an escrow account the opposition will use to pay for weapons, food, medicine, fuel and other needs.

Libya's rebels will agree to a cease-fire if Moammar Gadhafi pulls his military forces out of cities and allows peaceful protests against his regime, an opposition leader said Friday.

 


By Ben Hubbard

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