• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Africa Horn Now

"We don't take sides; we help you see more sides."

Africa Horn Now

ካብ ውሽጢ ቤት ማእሰርታት ኤርትራ

Published: May 6, 2021

PBS: Escaping Eritrea … [Read More...] about ካብ ውሽጢ ቤት ማእሰርታት ኤርትራ

Libya falls back into civil war as rival sides fight to control oil terminals

March 7, 2017 By AHN

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor | Tuesday 7 March 2017 | The Guardian

Conflict sparked by Benghazi Defence Brigade’s capture from Libyan National Army of terminals at Sidra and Ras Lanuf

An anti-government rebel sits with an anti-aircraft weapon in front of an oil refinery in Ras Lanuf, eastern Libya.
An anti-government rebel sits with an anti-aircraft weapon in front of an oil refinery in Ras Lanuf, eastern Libya. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

Ambassadors to Libya from the UK, America and France have made an appeal for calm as Libya falls back into a bloody civil war with rival sides battling for control of the hugely lucrative Libyan oil terminals.

Diplomats are concerned the fighting will severely damage the coastal oil infrastructure – the economic lifeblood for the country.

The fighting was sparked by the Islamist-led Benghazi Defence Brigade’s surprise capture on Friday of the oil export terminals at Sidra and Ras Lanuf.

The terminals were wrested from the control of field marshal Khalid Haftar, the head of the so-called Libyan National Army, a force that dominates in Eastern Libya and enjoys Russian and Egyptian support.

Haftar captured the oilfields in September, and the presence of the LNA appeared to have brought enough security to the oil crescent for production to rise from 200,000 barrels a day to close to 700,000.

The oil terminals had been shut for the previous two years while under the control of the rival Petroleum Facilities Guard.

The LNA was reported to be concentrating forces around the port of Brega, still under its control, in order to mount a counterattack with Haftar willing to call up fresh air strikes if possible from the United Arab Emirates.

The ambassadors urged all sides to recognise that the oil installations were under the control of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) and revenues must be sent to the UN-backed government in Tripoli.

Mustafa Sharksi the commander of the BDB, a militia only formed in spring 2016, said in a press conference in Misrata his “goal is to rescue Benghazi from Haftar and return displaced families to their homes”. He said his militia controlled 70km (43 miles) of coast either side of Sidra and Ras Lanuf and would not press on to Benghazi until another force had been sent by the NOC to take over the oil ports.

The violence has also had political consequences, with Libya’s eastern parliament voting to withdraw its support for a United Nations peace deal and the UN-backed government in Tripoli. The eastern parliament is close to Haftar and its vote suggests it believes the BDB is working with the Tripoli government.

The loss of the oilfields is also a blow for Haftar’s prestige and has shown the LNA is not as strong as sometimes perceived.

It was also striking that Egypt did not leap to Haftar’s defence. The Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, was frustrated last month when his efforts to bring about a reconciliation in Cairo between Haftar, representing the east, and Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of the Tripoli government, broke down when Haftar refused to meet him.

RELATED COVERAGE: EU reaches out to Russia to broker deal with Libyan general Haftar

Filed Under: AHN NEWS

Primary Sidebar

A New Administration Won’t Heal American Democracy

Published: November 6, 2020

The Rot in U.S. Political Institutions Runs Deeper Than Donald Trump Larry Diamond | November 5, 2020 | Foreign … [Read More...] about A New Administration Won’t Heal American Democracy

Archives

  • May 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • June 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014

Log In

Copyright © 2025 Africa Horn Now · WordPress · Log in