Qatar has announced that it now recognises the Libyan National Transition Council (LNTC) as ‘the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people’.

In a statement released by the Qatar News Agency, the Qatari government said that it believed that the LNTC had become the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

The move means Qatar is the first Arab state to formally recognise the rebels and has also agreed to market Libyan oil from fields now controlled by opponents.