France recognises Libyan rebels

LONDON. March 10. KAZINFORM France has become the first country to recognise the Libyan rebel leadership, the National Libyan Council (NLC), as the country's legitimate government; Kazinform refers to BBC News.

It comes as Nato is set to discuss military options in the Libyan conflict including a possible no-fly zone.

There is growing concern about the bombing of rebel-held areas by the forces of Col Muammar Gaddafi.

A BBC team which were detained and beaten up in Libya witnessed widespread mistreatment by the security forces.

In recent days pro-Gaddafi forces have tried to regain ground in the east, and have bombarded rebel forces in the town of Zawiya, 50km (30 miles) west of Tripoli.

The Red Cross president said on Thursday there was a marked increase in civilian casualties in what he called a "civil war".

The step was announced by the French presidency, a day after Euro-MPs urged the EU to recognise the rebels.

On Thursday the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy said France regarded the NLC as Libya's "legitimate representative".

Earlier EU foreign affairs chief, Baroness Ashton, said she was not mandated to take such a step herself. An NLC envoy has been lobbying Europe for support.

EU diplomats told the BBC: "We need to see who these people are and whether they are truly representative of the opposition."

They added that it was important to work in conjunction with the Arab League; Kazinform cites BBC News.

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