Libyan rebels need arm supplies to win the war against government forces, the head of the rebel-run Transitional National Council (TNC) said Thursday in Vienna, one day after France confirmed air drops of weapons for the opposition forces, DPA reported.
"The rebels have only light arms," Mahmoud Jibril said after meeting Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger. "We need weapons to bring the fight to a quick end."
A French military spokesman said Wednesday that France had dropped light arms and ammunition to Berber tribes fighting government forces in the western Nafusa mountains in early June.
Until now, only Arab states such as Qatar had directly armed the rebels.
Jibril also called on countries to unfreeze Libyan assets abroad, and to use the funds to provide food the population.
The TNC chairman was scheduled to meet German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle later in the day.