Libyan rebels appoint provisional govt.

In this undated photo made available on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011, shows Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, Libya's ex-justice minister. Abdel-Jalil, who stepped down as justice minister to protest the clampdown on anti-government demonstrations, was quoted Wednesday as telling a Swedish newspaper that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people in 1988. (AP Photo)

A member of the Benghazi city council said on Sunday that the Libyan cities under rebel control have appointed an ex-justice minister to lead a provisional government.

Fathi Baja said opponents of Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi named Mustafa Abdel-Jalil to the provisional leadership post.

Baja said Abdel-Jalil was chosen by the committees running the eastern Libyan cities now in the rebellion’s hands.

On Saturday, Libya’s top envoy to the U.S. also said Qadhafi opponents were rallying behind efforts to form an alternative government led by Abdel-Jalil, who has criticised Qadhafi’s brutal crackdown on protesters.

It was not immediately clear how much support the proposed provisional leadership commands.

The uprising against Qadhafi began in Benghazi on Feb. 15. The rebels now control most of the eastern half of the country.