EU sanctions target Libyan entities

BRUSSELS: The European Union will widen sanctions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi this week by adding a Libyan oil firm and a government administrative department to a blacklist, an EU official said on Tuesday.

The al-Sharara oil company and the Organisation for Administrative Affairs would both join a list of organisations facing asset freezes, the official said.

The EU is seeking to isolate Qadhafi, who has held onto power in Libya despite a six-month insurgency by NATO-backed rebels.

"These measures show the determination of the international community in maintaining the isolation of the regime in Tripoli and in drying up its revenues," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Oil shipping sources said the decision to add al-Sharara, oil and gas distribution company, to the sanctions list appeared aimed at curbing fuel deliveries to parts of Libya still controlled by Qadhafi.

The sources said the firm had been involved in an attempt to import fuel to west Libya aboard the government-owned tanker Cartagena, which was hijacked and taken to the rebel-led town of Benghazi by opponents of Qadhafi last week.

Power and petrol shortages have been worsening in Qadhafi's Tripoli power base in recent weeks, deepening public frustration at months of conflict with NATO-backed rebels.

While Libya has Africa's largest crude oil reserves and uses its gas and diesel supplies to generate electricity, it has relied on gasoline imports for vehicles.

International sanctions have hindered trade. The rebels have also tried to cripple Qadhafi's military and political power by shutting off oil supplies to the Zawiyah refinery near Tripoli.

The EU's move would bring the number of Libyan entities facing EU sanctions to 49, the EU official said. The bloc has also imposed travel bans and asset freezes on 39 individuals and six port authorities, the EU official added.

The new sanctions would to be approved on Wednesday and the names of the two new organisations will be published in the EU's Official Journal on Thursday, the official added.

Copyright Reuters, 2011