The United States granted Libyan rebel leaders full diplomatic recognition as the governing authority of Libya on Friday, a move that could give the cash-strapped rebels access to more than $30 billion in frozen assets that once belonged to Moammar Gaddafi. 
 
 The rebels’ Transitional National Council “has offered important assurances today, including the promise to pursue a process of democratic reform that is inclusive both geographically and politically,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in an explanation of the decision to other foreign ministers. 
 
 The U.S. announcement was accompanied by an agreement among all of the countries taking part in a meeting of 30 Western and Arab nations to similarly recognize the rebel council after five months of fighting that has failed to oust Gaddafi. 
 
 The move came after a plan was outlined by Libyan rebel leaders seeking to dispel doubts among Western powers about their capability to govern. The Libyan rebel representatives sent to Istanbul to make their case for recognition expressed exuberance after the announcement but also weariness and frustration at the limited help they have received. 
 
 With his hair matted in sweat and heavy bags under his eyes, Ali Tarhouni, the rebels’ minister of finance and oil, noted that the international recognition the rebels received Friday would not result in an immediate infusion of funds, which they desperately need. 
 
 “All it has brought is more pledges for money,” he said. “If we had as much money as we have had pledges these past few months, we would have no problems.” 
 
 Beside him, the rebels’ minister of information, Mahmoud Shammam, added that the opposition needs money but that it more desperately needs weapons, which most Western powers have refused to supply. The rebels might be barred from using money from frozen assets to buy weapons, he said. 
 
 News that the United States would recognize the rebel government as the legitimate authority in Libya spread quickly in the rugged desert mountains south of Tripoli, where rebel fighters have been battling Libyan troops. “We are very happy to hear this,” said Omar Gazayah, a teacher in the rebel town of Zintan who commands 230 fighters. “But we are waiting for actions, not just words and declarations.” 
 
 Gazayah said the rebels need money for fuel, medicine and weapons. “We hope this recognition means that America and NATO will put more pressure on Gaddafi — more pressure politically and with the military.” 
 
 So far, Kuwait and Qatar have given the rebels roughly $100 million. France on Friday renewed a previous pledge to unfreeze $250 million in assets in coming weeks for the rebels, and Italy pledged to unfreeze $100 million. 
 
 The United States did not pledge a specific amount, because the money is tied up in legalities, including U.S. and U.N. sanctions, U.S. officials said. 
 
 The United States could tell banks to transfer frozen assets directly to the Transitional National Council, but that could run into U.N. sanctions still in place. An alternative being considered by U.S. officials and Libyan rebels is using those assets as collateral for loans that rebels could use as funding. 
 
 The Obama administration’s announcement in Turkey drew immediate criticism from Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), who has been among the most vocal Republicans on the Libyan conflict. “This is incredibly premature,” Turner said, citing concerns about the rebels’ loyalty to the United States. “I don’t believe the administration can even answer the question ‘Where will the money go?’ ” 
 
 Libyan rebel leaders in Turkey said in response that they are not asking for U.S. aid but for frozen assets that belong to the Libyan people. 
 
 According to Clinton, Friday’s move was meant as a clear signal of support for the rebels. For weeks, U.S. officials have stopped short of official diplomatic recognition because of concerns about whether a post-Gaddafi government set up by rebel leaders would be truly inclusive politically and geographically. 
 
 The United States and other foreign powers have worried that the oil-rich country could become embroiled in tribal conflicts or ethnic tensions once Gaddafi is no longer in power. 
 
 The United States changed its position after hearing a presentation in Turkey by Mahmoud Jibril, the transitional council’s foreign affairs representative, who described the rebels’ plans for governing a post-Gaddafi Libya. 
 
 According to Libyan council members, the plan includes having the rebels, now based in the eastern city of Benghazi, reach out to other regions of Libya not currently represented on the council. Together, they would form an interim government to rule in Gaddafi’s place and then guide the country through democratic reforms and, ultimately, the election of a new government. Because the council plans to form an interim governing body, it will not immediately be changing its name. 
 
 In Libya, rebel leaders complained Friday that NATO’s mandate of limited engagement should be expanded to allow allied warplanes to strike at Gaddafi’s forces in coordination with rebel attacks. 
 
 “NATO hits one tank and then goes home,” said Ibrahim Taher, a battalion commander in Zintan who lost eight fighters Wednesday. “NATO could change this war in a day if they wanted to.” 
 
 The question of how to oust Gaddafi also dominated the meeting in Istanbul. Foreign ministers debated the sincerity of Gaddafi emissaries who have recently declared that he is ready to step down. U.S. officials say that Gaddafi’s camp has sent contradictory signals and that they are not convinced he is prepared to give up power. 
 
 Leading up to the meeting, Turkey and the African Union proposed “road maps” for resolving the conflict. But foreign ministers from several countries, including Italy and France, said there are too many road maps and separate talks with Gaddafi emissaries. As a result, the international contact group agreed to make the U.N. special envoy to Libya, Abdul-Illah Khatib, the sole representative to communicate with Gaddafi’s government. 
 
 The session in Turkey is the fourth official meeting of the contact group. For the first time, China and Russia were invited to attend. But the two countries, which have been critical of the NATO-led campaign, declined. 
 
 Booth reported from Zintan, Libya. Staff writers David Fahrenthold in Washington and Colum Lynch in New York contributed to this report. ||||| Media caption The BBC's John Simpson reports on the 'last crimes' of the Gaddafi regime 
 
 The United Nations has called on all sides in the Libyan conflict to take steps to ensure there are no acts of violence and revenge. 
 
 It comes as reports emerge of abuses and alleged summary killings by both rebels and troops loyal to Col Gaddafi. 
 
 The UN has also agreed to release $1.5bn (£1bn) in Libyan assets - which had been frozen under sanctions - to help with immediate humanitarian needs. 
 
 Fighting has continued in Tripoli, which is now largely in rebel control. 
 
 Thursday saw gunfights erupting in the city's Abu Salim district, one of the few remaining Gaddafi holdouts in the capital. 
 
 At the scene The rebels are building up their forces to attack Sirte. I spoke to one of their officers who said there would be another day at least of getting things into position. There are, they believe, about 1,500 Gaddafi loyalists on the road between Ras Lanouf and Bin Jawad, and they have to clear them out of the way before they can get to Sirte. Another officer told me he thought there was a deliberate delaying tactic, putting those Gaddafi forces on that road in order to better prepare the defences of Sirte. Certainly we saw a lot of tanks being moved up yesterday [Thursday] and digging in for this smaller battle before they get to Sirte itself - they think that will take three or four days. Col Gaddafi was born in the desert, in a tent near what was then the tiny fishing village of Sirte. When he came to power, 42 years ago, he started building it up, almost as a rival capital to Tripoli. The African Union was founded there, which Col Gaddafi has always thought of as his foremost achievement. He poured money into Sirte, with the result that it remains very loyal to him. Watch Paul Wood's report on the road to Sirte 
 
 The rebels have also been attempting to reach Col Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte but have been met with fierce resistance. There were reports that Nato planes carried out air strikes on the city overnight. 
 
 Late on Thursday, the National Transitional Council (NTC) said it had now moved its political base from the rebel stronghold Benghazi to the capital. 
 
 According to a rebel spokesman, half the NTC leadership is now in Tripoli. But the BBC's Jon Leyne, in Benghazi, says NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil and other senior officials are waiting for the situation in Tripoli to stabilise before they move. 
 
 The urgent process of restoring essential services and supplies, Libya's future effectively, is largely on hold until Col Gaddafi is killed or captured, our correspondent says. 
 
 Tortured and killed 
 
 UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said it was difficult to confirm reports of summary killings and torture, but said such incidents would be investigated by the existing Commission of Inquiry on Libya. 
 
 "We urge all those in positions of authority in Libya, including field commanders, to take active steps to ensure that no crimes, or acts of revenge, are committed," he told Reuters. 
 
 The UN has previously said some military action in Libya could amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity. 
 
 Earlier this week, the NTC's chairman, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, urged rebels not to engage in revenge attacks against pro-Gaddafi fighters, threatening to resign if his warning was not heeded. 
 
 The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes visited a hospital in the Mitiga district of Tripoli which had received the bodies of 17 rebel fighters. 
 
 Doctors said the group had been prisoners of Gaddafi troops in Tripoli and were tortured and killed as the rebels seized the capital earlier this week. 
 
 Dr Hoez Zaitan, a British medic working at the hospital, said about half the bodies had bullet wounds to the back of the head while others had disfiguring injuries to their limbs and hands. 
 
 He said the bodies had been examined for possible evidence to be used at a war crimes tribunal. 
 
 Meanwhile, the bodies of at least a dozen pro-Gaddafi fighters - two of whom had their hands tied behind their backs - were found on a roundabout in the centre of Tripoli. 
 
 There were reports that one body had an intravenous drip in the arm, and that others were badly burned. 
 
 Amnesty International says it has "powerful testimonies" of abuses by both sides in the coastal town of Zawiya, including allegations of violence by rebels against African migrant workers accused of being mercenaries. 
 
 On Thursday evening, the UN reached an agreement to release $1.5bn in Libyan assets after the motion was modified to remove a reference to the NTC. 
 
 South Africa had stalled the move, raising among its concerns that giving money to the NTC indicated officially acknowledging it as Libya's leaders - something it and the African Union have yet to do. ||||| A senior delegation of Libyan rebels met with national security officials at the White House after a week with some military and diplomatic gains. But the US is withholding official recognition. 
 
 White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon appears on NBC's Meet the Press in Washington, May 7. Donilon met with Mahmoud Gibril, president of the Libyan Transitional National Council’s Executive Bureau at the White House, Friday. 
 
 Libyan rebels met with top national security officials at the White House Friday, but the delegation failed to achieve the main plum it sought from the visit: official recognition by the United States of Libya’s self-declared interim government. 
 
 In a statement issued Friday afternoon, the White House said national security adviser Tom Donilon met with Mahmoud Gibril, president of the Libyan Transitional National Council’s Executive Bureau, and his delegation as part of “close consultations” between the Obama administration and the council. 
 
 The US recognizes the council as a “legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people,” the statement said. In contrast, it added, Mr. Donilon stressed to the Libyan opposition delegation that Muammar Qaddafi has “lost his legitimacy to rule” and reiterated President Obama’s call for Colonel Qaddafi to “leave immediately.” 
 
 But the statement skirted the issue of official US recognition of the interim government, just as it made no specific mention of efforts to make available to the rebels some of the $34 billion in Libyan funds the US holds. 
 
 Setback after positive week 
 
 The setback in Washington came at the end of what was largely a positive week for the rebels battling Qaddafi. Rebel fighters claimed some advances on the ground, taking control of the airport in the key western city of Misurata. Diplomatically the rebels also appeared to score a considerable gain when British Prime Minister David Cameron invited the Transitional National Council based in the rebel-controlled city of Benghazi to open a representative office in London. 
 
 But Washington continued to hold the rebels at arm’s length, with Defense Secretary Robert Gates stating Thursday that the US reluctance to provide lethal aid to the Libyan opposition derives from the fact that “we don’t know who they are.” 
 
 Mr. Obama also appeared to studiously hold back from a full embrace of the rebels by failing to stop by the White House meeting – as he sometimes does in cases where he wishes to convey presidential support. 
 
 At the same time, however, the White House did indicate that NATO would pursue its air campaign against Qaddafi as long as the Libyan leader continues his assault on the Libyan people. Obama met in the White House Friday with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and officials said the two leaders agreed that the alliance would continue its military role under the UN mandate to protect Libyan civilians. 
 
 NATO stepped up its bombardment of Libyan targets this week, with some strikes hitting the compound in which Qaddafi is believed to be holed up. That led to speculation that the alliance is trying to kill him as a way of ending what looks increasingly like a stalemate in a civil war between the rebels and forces loyal to Qaddafi. The US, however, insists that the NATO bombing campaign is not an assassination mission. 
 
 Some urge negotiated settlement 
 
 Some regional experts are insisting, meanwhile, that it is time for a negotiated political settlement to what is becoming an increasingly untenable conflict for Libyan civilians. 
 
 In a sharp critique of how the NATO military campaign has achieved only “indecisive” results, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said Friday it is time for the alliance to switch course and press for a cease-fire and a political agreement. 
 
 “Instead of stubbornly maintaining the present policy and running the risk that the aftermath will be one of dangerous chaos [the international community] should act now to secure a negotiated end to the civil war and facilitate a new beginning for Libya’s political life,” the ICG said. 
 
 Americans express considerable ambivalence about the NATO campaign and American involvement in it when asked. But from all the mixed feelings, what comes out on top is support for what is interpreted as Obama’s back-seat participation in the international campaign. 
 
 According to a Monitor/TIPP poll conducted May 1-6, a plurality of Americans say the US is “doing enough” in the NATO operation to protect Libyan civilians. In the poll, 41 percent said the US is doing “enough,” while 25 percent said the US is doing “too much” and 23 percent said its role is “not enough.” 
 
 Asked to judge Obama’s performance on Libya: Half of those polled said he was doing a “good” or “average” job on the issue, but 16 percent said he was doing an “unacceptable” job while 11 percent said his performance was “excellent.”
– The UN has unfrozen $1.5 billion in frozen Libyan assets to be used as humanitarian aid as it called on both sides of the conflict to avoid revenge killings, the BBC reports. The money had been seized by the US in the spring. It won’t go straight to the rebels, notes the New York Times: Instead, the US and international agencies will direct it toward humanitarian efforts. The head of the Transitional National Council pledged to “favor the countries which helped us” in accordance with “the support which they gave us.” With about half the Council in Tripoli, the city is largely in rebel hands—but fighting has continued, including reports of summary killings by both rebels and loyalists. Meanwhile, rebels have met opposition in their struggle to reach Moammar Gadhafi’s hometown, Sirte, which British planes bombed last night, hammering what Britain called a “large headquarters bunker,” CNN reports. Meanwhile, an empty hospital in the Abu Salim area—which has seen vicious fighting—held dozens of decomposing bodies, notes CBS News.