Libya rebels desperately short of funds - latimes.com Page 1 of 3 latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-rebels-money-2011O714,O,6330576.story latimes.com Libya rebels desperately short of funds Even as rebel commanders predict victory is near, the rebel leadership is short of cash to fight the rebellion and run civilian affairs. The lucrative oil industry has been shut down by the fighting. By David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times July 14, 2011 Reporting from Benghazi, Libya In early April, Mazin Ramadan left his American wife and two children in Seattle and flew to this Libyan rebel stronghold to help the opposition sort out its shaky finances. Three months later, things are looking as bleak as ever. "We're broke," said Ramadan, a Libyan American who founded a software tech company in Seattle and advises the rebel Transitional National Council on finances and oil. Even as rebel commanders predict that victory over Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi is near, the rebel leadership is desperately short of cash to fight the rebellion and run civilian affairs. The lucrative Libyan oil industry, which normally earns billions of dollars in hard currency, has been shut down by the fighting. advertisement FREE Premium tier, Choose FREE upgrade: Extreme or WH•DVR TV + INTERNET + PHONE $9999 r-WSM.1,MMPIN 'Mime Warner CLINE, Salaries for the rebel govenunent's workers haven't been paid in two months. There is precious little cash to buy the imported fuel needed for the war effort and for the economy in eastern Libya, which the rebels control. The council is beseeching Arab and Western nations to offer cash or credit. "We're getting decimated on the financial front lines," Ramadan said this week. As he spoke, the lights flickered and died in the conference room at a villa dating to the Italian colonial era that serves as a council office in downtown Benghazi. Fuel shortages have forced daily six-hour brownouts. The council has been buying