A force led by Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar said Thursday it had recaptured two key oil ports, a week after they were seized by a rival militia in a blow to crucial exports.
Armed groups led by militia leader Ibrahim Jadhran on June 14 attacked two eastern oil ports controlled by Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army. Haftar on Thursday announced an offensive to recapture the terminals after a week of clashes that had damaged vital infrastructure and slashed crude output, the lifeblood of Libya's economy.
"Our armed forces have full control of the Ras Lanuf region," LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mesmari said later, adding they had also retaken the Al-Sidra terminal. The violence in coastal Libya's oil crescent, some 650 kilometres (400 miles) east of Tripoli, has caused "catastrophic damage", according to the National Oil Company. Coming just weeks after rival Libyan leaders met in Paris and agreed to hold nationwide elections in December, the clashes have underscored how little the political push has affected the situation on the ground.
Libya has been wracked by conflict since the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a Nato-backed uprising, with rival governments and militias competing for authority and control of key infrastructure, particularly oil facilities. Haftar, addressing his forces in an audio message on Thursday, said that "zero hour has passed" to "crush the enemy". Haftar accused Jadhran of "allying with the devil" and called Thursday's operation a "sacred invasion to cleanse the land and restore justice".
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.