Context
The EU is to set up an office in Libyan rebel-controlled town of Benghazi to bolster support for the anti-Qaddafi forces, according to EU’s foreign policy director Catherine Ashton. “I intend to open an office in Benghazi so that we can move forward on the support we’ve discussed to the people,” said Ashton on Wednesday. The purpose of this office will be to “support civil society, to support the interim national council… to support security sector reform, to build on what the people ask us to,” she continued. NATO, which is carrying out air assaults against Qaddafi forces, has also decided to open a civilian post in Benghazi to enhance political ties with the rebels.
