Libyan rebels controlling the east of the country have said that their economy will collapse by June unless France, Italy and the United States make a $3.0 billion loan secured by Moamer Kadhafi’s frozen assets. “The liquidity that we have domestically most likely will carry us through three weeks, at the most four weeks,” said Ali Tarhoni, who holds the economy and oil portfolio in the rebel administration. “I think if we get lines of credit from our friends in France, Italy and the United States we will be fine,” he told reporters in the rebel capital Benghazi, adding that “we need two to three billion dollars.”
That would enable his administration to get through the next three to four months, he said. Libya’s economy is in tatters after more than two months of conflict between rebels and forces loyal to Kadhafi, who has ruled the country for 41 years. Tarhoni said he needed 50-100 million Libyan dinars ($75-150 million) a day to pay for food, medical care for those wounded in the conflict and state salaries on which many depend. The rebels have already reached a consensus with the global powers which the rebel leadership will meet with in Italy on Thursday to set up a mechanism to get credit lines opened, he said.