McCain urges recognition of Libya rebel council

BENGHAZI: Visiting US Senator John McCain on Friday urged the international community to recognise the rebel Transitional National Council as the "legitimate voice" of Libya's people.

McCain at a press conference in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, eastern Libya, called on the world "to recognise the Transitional National Council as the legitimate voice of the Libyan people, They have earned this right."

The Mediterranean city of Benghazi, run by the TNC, was "a powerful and hopeful example of what a free Libya could be," the senior senator said after talks with rebel leaders.

"I met with all the key leaders of the Council and applaud their remarkable progress in their struggle for liberation," he said.