Aid Live Blog

US President Barack Obama plans to accelerate the pace of American aid to Egypt, a top State Department official said on Wednesday, as the most populous Arab nation reaches a critical stage in its uncertain transition away from autocratic rule. 

Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats, part of a US delegation that held unprecedented talks last week with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, said Washington wanted to provide "more immediate benefits" to Egyptians, who earlier this month conducted their first democratic elections in decades. 

"During this period, we want to be as supportive as we can. This is an historic moment. Egypt's a country of enormous importance," Hormats said.  [Reuters]

The Syrian National Council (SNC) in Amman confirmed to Al Jazeera that Jordanian authorities have banned activists from heading to Syria to deliver aid in fear for "their safety and Jordan's security". Jordan is concerned the activists would be fired on by Syrian security forces once they exit Jordan.

The United States said Tuesday it is now seeking to release up to $1.5bn in frozen Libyan assets in order to help the opposition forces establish a secure government and meet humanitarian needs.

"We are also working urgently today ... this week to be able to release between a billion and 1.5 billion dollars in US-held frozen Libyan assets," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

"We are working in the UN sanctions committee to be able to do this," Nuland told reporters.

After Muammar Gaddafi cracked down on anti-government protests in February, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution freezing the regime's assets abroad, including an estimated $30bn dollars in the United States.

"We want to get this money back to the (opposition National Transition Council) for its use... to meet humanitarian needs and to help establish a secure stable government," Nuland said.

"We hope this process will be complete in the coming days. There is quite a bit of diplomacy," she added.   -   AFP

In the last Libya contact group meeting in Abu Dhani, Kuwait promised $180 m , Qatar $100 m, France $240 m, Italy $500 plus in fuel and cash.

The meeting also 'activated' the temporary financial mechanism that was adopted in the Rome meeting in May.

The Libya contact group members including Hillary Clinton said that NTC has submitted their plan of how they intend to spend the money and how to monitor it.  

NTC officials said the need $3 billion for the next 6 months to pay wages for their fighters employees and to feed the population. The vice chairman of the NTC Ghoga said that they are not beggars and that they are asking for their money - reference to the estimated $160 billion assets frozen in the west.

The UAE finance minister says the UN Security Council needs to adopt a resolution in order to defreeze these assets.