Rebel chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil said today that foreign countries which backed Libya's revolt would be rewarded with contracts in the state's post-war reconstruction.

"We promise to favour the countries which helped us, especially in the development of Libya. We will deal with them according to the support which they gave us," he told a news conference in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Jalil, the National Transitional Council (TNC) chairman, thanked countries which took part in NATO's military operations against longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi and those which unblocked Libya's frozen assets abroad.

On the political front, he said six more TNC members would travel to Tripoli tomorrow as part of preparations to base a post-Muammar Gaddafi government in the capital, following the despatch of several other council members.