France admits it has provided arms for opposition forces in Libya

France has sent weapons to Libyan rebel forces, a military spokesman said - the first Nato country to publicly announce it has armed fighters battling Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Colonel Thierry Burkhard said the deliveries took place in early June in the western Nafusah mountains when civilians were encircled by Col Gaddafi's forces and his government refused to allow a humanitarian aid corridor there.

Col Burkhard said that the weapons were parachuted in by air and included "self-defence assets" such as assault weapons, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and munitions.

Meanwhile, in London, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Libya's cash-strapped opposition has received donor funds to pay salaries to public-sector workers in rebel-held areas. Last week, a first payment of $100 million (62m) in international aid money was made to Libya's main opposition group, based in the Benghazi, Mr Hague told MPs.

He said a meeting of the group next month would seek to ensure "the international community is ready to support the Libyan people in building a stable future."