#Jufra NTC captured one of Muammar Gaddafi's last strongholds deep in the Sahara desert,

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#Libya rulers say they seize #Gaddafi desert outposts - msnbc.com :on.msnbc.com/dXbBoX

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TRIPOLI/NORTH OF BANI WALID, Libya — Libya's interim rulers said they had captured one of Muammar Gaddafi's last strongholds deep in the Sahara desert, finding chemical weapons, and largely taken control of another.

In another boost, the National Transitional Council (NTC) had an unexpected windfall when it found $23 billion worth of assets left unspent by Gaddafi in Libya's central bank, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing officials in London and Tripoli.

The NTC is under pressure to assert its control over the country and also to revive Libya's economy and finance government institutions, hit by the long struggle to overthrow Gaddafi.

The NTC's military spokesmen said its forces had seized the outpost of Jufra about 700 km (435 miles) southeast of Tripoli, and most of Sabha.

"The whole of the Jufra area -- we have been told it has been liberated," spokesman Fathi Bashaagha told reporters in the city of Misrata on Wednesday. "There was a depot of chemical weapons and now it is under the control of our fighters."