centre of Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, during another of a series of pro-Gaddafi rallies in the past weeks to show support to Gaddafi. 24 July Germany began offering loans of up to $144 million to the NTC to help with humanitarian needs and rebuilding. Guido Westerwelle announced that his country is giving out loans, because Gaddafi's frozen assets cannot be released at the time. NATO war planes destroyed two command and control nodes, two surface-to-air missile launchers, and one anti-aircraft gun in Tripoli; while rebels also repulsed a counter-attack, by loyalist forces in the southwest. It was reported that the Libyan opposition forces had repelled an offensive by government troops in the town of Qwalish. Sunday's attack was aimed at recapturing the strategic desert town, southwest Tripoli. Witnesses said dozens of civilians were sent to the area just before the attack. Opposition fighters seized control of the region earlier this month. 25 July Reuters reported that a group of Libyan diplomats and staff stormed the Libyan embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, smashing statues and portraits of Gaddafi and declaring the embassy under the control of the opposition forces. Footage from private Bulgarian television station, bTV, showed several opposition supporters taking down the Libyan flag and smashing a bust of Gaddafi to pieces in the embassy's yard. The group detained the charge d'affairs of the embassy and his secretary, who declined to denounce the Libyan leader. The two were later allowed to leave, Reuters said, citing bTV. 26 July The pro-Gaddafi government would not agree to negotiations while NATO airstrikes are ongoing, said Baghdadi Mahmudi, prime minister of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, after meeting with a UN envoy. He also said that Gaddafi could not be asked to leave power or quit Libya. CNN reported that NATO warplanes had struck a health clinic, a food-storage complex and a military base in Zliten, allegedly killing at least 11 civilians. The video report also shows ruins of a mosque and school located on the outskirts of the city which were destroyed by air strikes. NATO later issued a statement where they rejected claims that they have hit non-military targets near the coastal city, claiming instead to have hit a command and control node and a vehicle storage facility. 27 July The Financial Times reported several cases of officials in Gaddafi's government "manicuring the facts". One example was a house in Zliten that government officials claimed