starved rebels Thursday won more than $1.1 billion of aid at a conference of Western and Arab powers that focused on the end-game for Muammar Gaddafi and the country's civil war. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said talks were under way with people close to Gaddafi that had raised the “potential” for a transition of power, but added: “There is not any clear way forward yet.” Also referring to what he called multiple feelers from the Gaddafi government, Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said Gaddafi's end “may come sooner” than expected. NATO warplanes relentlessly bombed Tripoli as the rebels said at the talks in Abu Dhabi that they hoped to restart oil production soon. At the United Nations, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said its investigators had found evidence linking Gaddafi to a policy of raping opponents. Clinton declined to give details of discussions over Gaddafi's future. “There have been numerous and continuing discussions by people close to Gaddafi and we are aware that those discussions include among other matters the potential for a transition,” she said at the end of the Libya contact group meeting. A bipartisan group in the US Congress urged President Barack Obama to use frozen Libyan government assets to pay for humanitarian aid for Libyan people caught up in the civil war. NATO airstrikes took place through Thursday after a lull following the heaviest day of bombings since March. Rebel Oil and Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni said they hoped to restart production of 100,000 barrels a day “soon”, without specifying a time frame, and called for more aid, immediately. “Our people are dying ... So my message to our friends is that I hope they walk the walk,” he told reporters. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told Reuters Rome would give the rebels up to $586.1 million of cash and fuel aid backed by frozen Libyan assets. Kuwait said it would immediately transfer $180 million to the rebels, while the UAE said it would make an announcement on financing and the diplomatic status of the rebels soon. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said about 290 million euros in assets would be unfrozen by French banks. Turkey, which will host the next meeting in Istanbul during July, said it had set up a $100 million fund. The 22-nation contact group, which includes Western and Arab countries as well as organizations such as the United Nations, is pressing the rebels to give a detailed plan on how they would run the country if Gaddafi stood down or was toppled. The rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) and its Western allies have rejected Libyan government ceasefire offers that do not include Gaddafi stepping down first. At the United Nations human rights body, Libya's envoy rejected a separate UN report accusing its forces of crimes. Rebels in the besieged western city of Misrata said thousands of pro-Gaddafi forces launched a major advance on the city killing at least 12 people Wednesday. “The situation is a stalemate — both sides are adopting hit-and-run tactics,” rebel spokesman Abdelsalam said from Misrata late Thursday after more bombardments on the city. “NATO has to change something. Their goal is unclear.” NATO disputed the account. “There were some small groups of pro-Gaddafi forces who were trying to advance toward the center of Misrata ... but I think this is an embellishment,” a NATO official said.
