The French Foreign Ministry said Friday that 14 people who served as Libyan diplomats under leader Moammar Gadhafi have been asked to leave the country within two days.

"France has declared persona non grata 14 Libyan ex-diplomats posted in [the country]," the ministry said in a statement, indicating that Paris no longer recognized their diplomatic status.

The ministry accused them of "activities incompatible with the relevant UN resolutions [...] and contrary to the protection of Libyan civilians," citing the UN mandate under which international forces are bombing Gadhafi's strategic sites.

France was the first foreign power to formally recognize the Transitional National Council (TNC), the political leadership of the rebels who are battling Gadhafi's forces.

Rebel funding

The move in France came as the international community agreed to create a special fund to allow it to help finance the rebel TNC.

The fund will tap frozen assets belonging to Gadhafi's regime, although French Defense Minister Alain Juppe acknowledged that there are still unresolved legal issues surrounding this plan. Therefore, donations and loans from the international community will initially sustain the fund, with frozen Gadhafi assets slated to eventually replace these contributions.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Thursday at a meeting in Rome, co-chaired by Italy and Qatar, that some 170 million euros ($250 million) were already available. This figure falls far short of the $2-3 billion that the rebels say they desperately need.

"I welcome the announcement of the establishment of a special fund known as the Temporary Financial Mechanism, that will permit funds to be channeled effectively and transparently" to the rebels, Frattini said.

France, Italy to co-chair fund

The French and Italian governments will take turns managing the fund, after these two countries spearheaded efforts to convince the European Union to approve the plan.

According to media reports, the EU and US have frozen as much as 40 billion euros in Gadhafi assets.

"That money belongs to the Libyan people," Frattini said.

Representatives from 22 countries and six international organizations, including all of the countries participating in the NATO-led campaign in Libya, attended the talks in Rome. There was tight security at the meeting, not least for US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - on her first foreign trip since the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Clinton said the US was also working to facilitate oil sales by the opposition, promising another $53 million in aid for the rebels.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle again stressed the need for a political solution in Libya, saying that the limits of the military operation were becoming more and more clear. Despite over a month of NATO-led airstrikes supporting the rebels, the battle remains something of a stalemate.

Westerwelle said minimizing casualties should be the priority, but not by ramping up military efforts. "Instead, the most important thing is to ensure that humanitarian aid can be provided very quickly," he said.

Author: Mark Hallam, Gabriel Borrud (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler