France hands Libya rebels $259 million in unfrozen funds

A rebel fighter mans an anti-aircraft machine gun atop a pick-up truck in front of a poster of France's President Nicolas Sarkozy in Benghazi, July 1, 2011.

PARIS (Reuters) - France will place $259 million at the disposal of Libya's National Transition Council (NTC) after un-freezing Libyan assets in the country, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Monday.

The NTC has committed to use the funds for humanitarian purposes, respecting European guidelines, according to a foreign ministry statement released after a meeting between Juppe and the NTC's special envoy in Paris, Mansour Seyf al-Nasr.

(Reporting by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Jon Hemming)