BENGHAZI, Libya, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Libya's opposition National Transitional Council (NTC) said Saturday that they were preparing to enter the oil refinery town of Brega "within days," even as they suffered heavy casualties in the offensive.
The rebel forces have reached the outskirts of Brega by Thursday, and have been trying to breach its defenses from north, east and south, NTC spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga told journalists in the eastern city of Benghazi.
"The battles have caused some casualties, as (Libyan leader Muammar) Gaddafi's forces laid landmines in and around Brega," he said. "But our special forces managed to push forward a few kilometers and disarm some landmines."
The NTC was recognized as "the legitimate governing authority in Libya" by the Libya contact group in Istanbul on Friday, which has cleared the way for the release of the frozen funds abroad.
Besides an emergency budget of 3.5 billion U.S. dollars, the NTC said Turkey had promised to provide 100 million dollars worth of medicine and food, and another 100 million dollars in cash, within the next few days.
"The NTC will pay wages to Libyan families in order to help ease the life during the coming Ramadan," the spokesperson added.
The NTC reiterated its stance that Gaddafi and his family must leave before any political solution can be reached.
Special Report: Foreign Military Intervention in Libya
