Qatari bank requests Libya to pay back loan

A private Qatari bank requested the Central Bank of Libya to pay back a loan of 100 million U.S. dollars borrowed during the 2011 Libyan civil war, a senior bank official has said. The loan with no interest rate was offered to the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC), the force that overthrew the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, said Masbah Akkari, director of Financial Markets Department of the International Bank of Qatar. Akkari said Doha demanded his bank return the money within two days without any notice earlier. Turkey also supported the NTC during the period of the civil war, loaning 200 million dollars with an interest rate of 2.6 percent, Akkari said. This loan has already been paid back. Qatar and Turkey had played important roles in the process of overthrowing the Gaddafi regime.