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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (1) Full Focus Editor's choice A selection of our top photos from the past 24 hours. Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read UPDATE 1-Los Alamos scurries to protect nuclear lab from fire 28 Jun 2011 Violence flares before key Greek austerity vote | 8:58am EDT Analysis: California budget wins approval but no applause 10:22am EDT Judge blocks testimony from Casey Anthony fiancé 28 Jun 2011 Instant view: Greek parliament votes for austerity plan 9:40am EDT Discussed 221 Biden deficit-cut talks hit impasse: Rep. Cantor 139 CBO sees government benefits swamping U.S. economy 114 Fragile economy pushed Obama to tap oil reserves Watched A Tokyo-Paris flight in under three hours on the horizon Fri, Jun 24 2011 Hefner's revenge; Ryan Reynolds stops traffic Fri, Jun 17 2011 China's luxury fast train debuts Mon, Jun 27 2011 France provided weapons, food to Libya rebels Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Dutch warn of heated NATO debate as Libya drags on 9:26am EDT Analysis & Opinion An encounter with a paratrooper at Kabul airport Transcript of Carlos Ghosn interview Related Topics World » France » Libya » Rebel fighters take up position on the front line, 18 km (11 miles) west of Ajdabiyah, June 27, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Esam Al-Fetori By Elizabeth Pineau and John Irish PARIS | Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:08am EDT PARIS (Reuters) - France provided weapons, munitions and food to Libyan rebels in the Western Mountains in early June to prevent troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi from overrunning the region, a military spokesman said on Wednesday. Citing unidentified sources, Le Figaro newspaper said on Wednesday France had parachuted "large amounts" of weapons, including rocket launchers, assault rifles, machine guns and anti-tank missiles into the Jebel Nafusa region. The move, it said, was an effort to give impetus to a rebel push toward Gaddafi's stronghold in the Libyan capital Tripoli. "There were humanitarian drops because the humanitarian situation was worsening and at one point it seemed the security situation was threatening civilians who could not defend themselves," armed forces spokesman Thierry Burkhard told Reuters. "France therefore also sent equipment allowing them to defend themselves, comprising light weapons and munitions," he said, adding that the drop in early June had included medicine and food. The rebellion against Gaddafi's 41-year rule has made only slow progress since NATO-led countries began bombing three months ago, but rebels say they are finally advancing closer to the Libyan capital. Rebels based in the Western Mountains region southwest of the capital made their biggest breakthrough in weeks on Sunday to reach the town of Bir al-Ghanam, where they are now fighting pro-Gaddafi forces for control. The Figaro said France's decision to send arms had been taken without consulting its NATO partners and it quoted a high-level source saying it was "because there was no other way to proceed." Officials at the Foreign Ministry official said it did not handle operational affairs and could not comment on the report. Government spokesman Francois Baroin declined to comment. A French military source said that no planes could fly in the area without NATO knowing about it. Le Figaro said it had seen a confidential map stamped by French intelligence services showing various areas in the mountains including Yafran and Nalut under the control of rebels where weapons could be sent. Speaking after a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and rebel chief Mahmoud Jibril, National Transitional Council Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam told reporters on Tuesday it had not asked for any further military assistance. "We are getting our (military) means from other places," Shammam said, without elaborating. Until now, the rebels have been receiving weapons from Qatar in particular through its bastion in Benghazi to the east of the country. Sarkozy has had a close relationship with the rebels since French planes struck first in Libya as part of a U.N.-backed mandate to protect civilians. While military intervention on the ground has been ruled out, Sarkozy previously promised to step up air strikes. Earlier in June, French and British helicopters joined operations to give the NATO-led mission more precision targeting and help speed up the military conclusion. (Reporting by John Irish, additional reporting by Nicholas Vinocur; editing by Mark Heinrich) World France Libya Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (1) bobw111 wrote: Armes de la France. Fabriqués en France, testé en Libye. Well you don’t think they would try them out themselves do you?… Jun 29, 2011 7:56am EDT -- Report as abuse See All Comments » Add Your Comment Social Stream (What's this?) © Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Analyst Research Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service Reuters on Facebook Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

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