20110509
reuters

NATO planes pounded Libyan government weapons depots southeast of the town of Zintan on Monday, in a sign of widening conflict in the Western Mountains region as rebels battle to unseat Muammar Gaddafi.

"The air strikes occurred around 1100 (0900 GMT). We saw big plumes of smoke and heard explosions," said a rebel spokesman in Zintan who gave his name as Abdulrahman. There was no immediate comment from NATO or from Tripoli.

Two months into a conflict linked to this year's uprisings in other Arab countries, rebels hold Benghazi and towns in the east while the government is firmly in control of the capital and other major cities.

Tripoli says most Libyans support Gaddafi, the rebels are armed criminals and al Qaeda militants, and NATO's intervention is an act of colonial aggression by Western powers seeking to steal the country's oil.

The rebels face a government with superior firepower and resources but they achieved a financial breakthrough on Monday, selling oil worth $100 million paid for through a Qatari bank in U.S. dollars, a member of their oil and gas support group said.

They desperately need money for food and medicine, and this prompted Western and Arab countries last week to promise a cash lifeline potentially worth billions of dollars.

In another boost, Egyptian authorities put Gaddafi's cousin Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam under house arrest in the city of Nasr and planned to seize his funds and property and deport him to Benghazi, according to the rebel Brnieq website, which cited a reliable source.