Britain to release £1bn in Libyan assets

ALMOST £1 billion (€1.07bn) of Libyan currency held in Britain will be released to the country’s central bank after the UN Sanctions Committee approved the measure.

Some 1.86bn Libyan Dinar of newly printed banknotes were held in Britain under sanctions imposed on the Gaddafi regime.

Foreign Minister William Hague said: “This represents another major step forward in getting necessary assistance to the Libyan people, building on the remarkable progress in recent days.

“These banknotes, which were frozen in the UK under UN sanctions, will help address urgent humanitarian needs, instill confidence in the banking sector, pay salaries of key public sector workers and free up liquidity in the economy.”

Libya’s interim leader yesterday gave forces loyal to deposed ruler Muammar Gaddafi a four-day deadline to surrender towns still under their control or face military force.

As the hunt for Gaddafi goes on, Libyan officials accused neighbouring Algeria of an act of aggression for admitting his fleeing wife and three of his children.

Algeria’s Foreign Ministry said Gaddafi’s wife Safia, his daughter Aisha and his sons Hannibal and Mohammed had entered Algeria on Monday morning, along with their children.

That stirred a diplomatic row just as Libya’s interim council works to consolidate its authority and capture places still loyal to Gaddafi, notably the coastal city of Sirte.

“By Saturday, if there are no peaceful indications for implementing this we will decide this matter militarily. We do not wish to do so but we cannot wait longer,” Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of Libya’s interim council, told a news conference.

Anti-Gaddafi forces have converged on Sirte from east and west, but have stopped short of an all-out assault in hopes of arranging a negotiated surrender of Gaddafi’s birth-place.

Gaddafi was in Tripoli until Friday, when he left for the southern town of Sabha, Sky News reported, quoting a 17-year-old bodyguard of Gaddafi’s son Khamis.

A NATO spokesman said reports of talks over Sirte were encouraging, but said the alliance, which has kept up a five-month bombing campaign, was targeting the city’s approaches.

Anti-Gaddafi officers have reported that Khamis and former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi were both killed in a clash on Saturday.