William Hague visits rebel held Benghazi

LONDON: British Foreign Secretary William Hague visited the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Saturday to show support for the opposition fighting to oust Muammar Qaddafi from power, the British government said.

Hague, who is travelling with Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell, is to meet leaders of the National Transitional Council.

"We are here today for one principal reason to show our support for the Libyan people and for the National Transitional Council, the legitimate representative of the Libyan people," Hague said in a statement.

"We will discuss the situation on the ground and look forward to next week's meeting of the Libya Contact Group in Abu Dhabi."

British Prime Minister David Cameron described the National Transitional Council last month as the "legitimate political interlocutor in Libya and Britain's primary partner there."

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