Forces led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter said late Sunday that they had seized the Zueitina terminal from a militia known as the Petroleum Facilities Guards, hours after capturing the nearby terminals of Ras Lanuf and al-Sidra.
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Libyan forces loyal to the United Nations -backed government are now battling a powerful Islamic State affiliate in the central city of Sirte with the help of US -led airstrikes. His seizure of the ports risks a response from powerful western brigades allied with the government and a deepening of regional divisions. This statement insisted all the exports must be from the UN-backed Tripoli government, and not the also UN-backed Tobruk parliament.
Libya’s conflict has crippled its once vibrant oil sector, denying the country an estimated $100 billion in revenues over the past three years.
Hifter’s army units urged the state-run oil corporation, which is based in Tripoli, to resume oil exports.
He further called for respecting the UN Security Council Resolution 2259 that recognises the Government of National Accord consisting of the Presidency Council and the cabinet as the sole executive authority in the country.
The seizure threatened to reignite conflict over Libya’s oil resources and disrupt efforts by the United Nations -backed Government of National Accord to revive oil production and exports.
The UN official affirmed that this has resulted in the imposition of strict capital controls and the lack of liquidity. Rival powers and militias have been fighting for control over the country ever since.
Since then, however, some political and tribal leaders in the east have withheld their support, anxious that the new government is a vehicle for opponents in the west.
Some 400 Libyan soldiers have been killed and about 2,500 injured in the operation to recapture Sirte, and some of the most seriously wounded have been taken for treatment in Italy already, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told the commission.
But the campaign has been costly, and Misrata also has to sustain a military presence in several other parts of the west, including Tripoli, where it has provided support for the GNA.
The Tripoli-based GNA is opposed by an internationally recognised parliament based in Libya’s remote east near the border with Egypt.
But the NOC is split into two rival branches.
He said Italy was working with the United States to promote dialogue on national reconciliation including Haftar.
“I think this is what he’s aiming for – to be the one who reopens the terminals”, Gazzini said.
The release of the statement coincided with U.N. Libya envoy Martin Kobler expressing concern over the battles in the oil crescent region and urging LNA to abstain from any military escalation.
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The nine-member council is divided between supporters and opponents of Hifter.
