Forces led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter took over the Ras Lanuf and al-Sidra terminals on Libya’s Mediterranean coast on Sunday and hope to seize a third terminal, al-Zueitina.
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On the contrary, Siraj government rejected seizure of the oil crescent region and called on supporting forces to “report to national and military duty” in order to regain control over the region, knowing that it represents one of the major financial resources to Siraj government.
“Our armed forces took control of the entrances to the town of Ajdabiya, Al-Sidra port, industrial and residential area nearby, Ras Lanuf port. Clashes are now ongoing near the Zuwaytina site”, which is east of the other two, the spokesman told the news agency.
Haftar, 73, who sees himself as Libya’s saviour after battling conservative armed groups out of most of second city Benghazi in the east, backs the Bayda-based parliament which has refused to grant the GNA a vote of confidence.
The PFG also said it would reopen the Zueitina Port, but Haftar’s forces, known as the Libyan National Army (LNA), mobilised in the area leading to fears of a struggle for control.
The PFG had struck a deal with the GNA in July to resume exports from Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitina, all of which the PFG had been blockading for years.
Italy will deploy some 300 doctors, nurses, and soldiers to Libya to establish a military field hospital at the request of the United Nations-recognized unity government in Tripoli.
The UN Libya envoy Martin Kobler said on Twitter he was anxious about the fighting.
Libya has been in chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with rival authorities and militia fighting for control in the oil-rich country.
The GNA called on loyalist forces to “protect and defend” the ports against what it called a “flagrant aggression” of Libya’s sovereignty.
A spokesman for the Petroleum Facilities Guard, the militia that controlled the ports for months, denied the claim but acknowledged that they had come under attack Sunday morning.
In a statement released late on Sunday, the GNA’s leadership, or Presidential Council, called the attacks an “unjustified escalation” that would “prolong the period of conflict” in Libya.
General Haftar and his Libyan National Army militia are…
The spokesperson of the European Union said the attacks on oil terminals endanger Libya’s energy infrastructure.
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But previous efforts to do this through the NOC office in Benghazi and funnel money to an eastern branch of Libya’s central bank have been blocked by global opposition.
