India invited to attend international conference on Libya

The conference of the "friends of Libya" is intended to speed up humanitarian aid, medical supplies, rehabilitation and other immediate assistance for the war-torn nation as well as to work out a long-term plan for the reconstruction of a "new independent Libya", Sarkozy said after talks with Mahmoud Jibril, head of the Libyan National Transitional Council.

A top priority for the conference is to clear the way for releasing the frozen wealth of Gaddafi and his clans in bank accounts abroad to meet the country's immediate needs, to support the transitional government and to finance the country's reconstruction as a democratic nation.

"There is no need at all for us to mobilise large funds", Sarkozy said.

"We only have to make available to the Libyan people the money from the frozen accounts of Gaddafi and his clans."

Besides the Libya contact group which comprised mainly of nations which participated in a six-month military operation in support of the rebel forces seeking to overthrow the Gaddafi regime, India, China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa, which stayed out of the conflict, will also be invited, Sarkozy said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will also attend the conference.

Sarkozy said he will organise the conference jointly with British Prime Minister David Cameron, his closest ally in launching the UN-authorised military campaign to enforce a "no-fly zone" over Libya.

The meeting between Sarkozy and Jibril was hurriedly organised after the rebel forces made a surprise advance to the Libyan capital Tripoli on Sunday and stormed into the Libyan dictator's highly-fortified residential compound.

Jibril said the NTC has no information on the whereabouts of Gaddafi or his family members.

There have been rumours that he is presently in the town of Sirte, in the south of the country or he could have possibly left the country, he said.

"Our fight is not yet over," Jibril said. "There are several places where the forces loyal to Gaddafi are offering strong resistance."

Jibril thanked France and other members of the international coalition against Gaddafi for their support to overthrow the dictator, who ruled Libya with an iron hand for 42 years.

National reconciliation will be a top priority for the NTC when it takes over the administration of the whole nation, he said.

Sarkozy said the international coalition will continue its military operation in Libya within the framework of the UN Security Council resolution until the "threat from the Gaddafi clan" is completely eliminated.

Meanwhile, the European Union and the US have begun preparations to unfreeze the assets of Gaddafi and his clans in foreign banks.

Several governments are working on a new draft resolution to lift the freezing of Libyan assets imposed by the UN Security Council after the Gaddafi regime cracked down on protesters demanding democratic reforms.

The NTC estimates that the total assets of the Gaddafi clans in foreign banks could be more than USD 150 billion.

With a share of more than USD 37 billion, the US holds the largest deposit of Libyan wealth in foreign banks.

British banks are estimated to possess the second largest deposit of Libyan assets worth around USD 20 billion while Germany had frozen bank accounts of Gaddafi and his clans worth around USD 10 billion.

Germany on Tuesday offered the NTC 100 million euros for immediate humanitarian and civil assistance. This will be deducted from the frozen assets of the Gaddafi clans, when they are made available to the transitional government, media reports said.