The Libyan government – formerly Libya's opposition forces – has decided to give $100 million in humanitarian aid, including food and medicine to Syria's opposition civilians and activist rebel forces. It was not made clear exactly how the aid would make its way to those who so badly need it.
In addition, Syria's opposition forces have received permission to open an office in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, a government spokesman said Wednesday. The office of the Libyan prime minister, Libyan aid authority and Libyan Red Crescent will be responsible for finding a way to deliver the aid to its intended recipients.
Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil (R) made the announcement after meeting with the head of the Syrian delegation Emad Al-deen Rasheed, who is a member of the opposition Syrian National Council, Tuesday in Tripoli.
The Libyan government also issued a statement encouraging its citizens to donate to the effort and support the Syrian revolution, which in many respects is beginning to resemble that which occurred in Libya.
Last year's Arab Spring uprising, which ended the decades-long regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, also toppled the dictatorship of former Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, who was killed when he was captured.
Qaddafi's forces killed more than 10,000 of his own people, justifying the slaughter as an attempt to quell the anti-government uprising ignited by the Arab Spring. He was charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court at the Hague, as was his son and heir-apparent, Saif al-Islam, who was indicted.
Saif al-Islam was captured in the Sahara Desert in November 2011 and currently is incarcerated in a Libyan jail, awaiting trial on murder charges, in addition to the ICC indictment.