The Jerusalem Post

Haftar’s forces seize two key Libyan oil ports

- • By AYMAN AL-WARFALLI

BENGHAZI – Forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar on Sunday seized at least two key oil ports from a rival force loyal to the UN-backed government, risking a new conflict over the OPEC nation’s resources.

Ahmed al-Masmari, a spokesman for Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army, said LNA fighters seized control of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf and Brega, but still faced resistance at the (Reuters) port of Zueitina and around the nearby town of Ajdabiya.

The attacks on Libya’s major oil ports by Haftar, who opposes the UN-backed Government of National Accord, pushes the North African state towards a broader battle over its oil resources and disrupts attempts to restart production.

Armed conflict, political disputes and terrorism have reduced oil production to about 200,000 barrels per day from 1.6 million before the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Haftar, a former army general who has been a divisive figure in Libya since Gaddafi was toppled, has resisted attempts to integrate him into a unified armed forces and overcome divisions between the east and west regions.

Many in western Libya and Tripoli criticize Haftar as a former Gaddafi ally bent on establishi­ng a military dictatorsh­ip, but he has become a figurehead for many in the east who feel abandoned by the capital.

The state-run National Oil Corporatio­n confirmed Ras Lanuf and Es Sider were under full control of Haftar forces while Zueitina was still held by loyalist forces.

The attacks complicate Western attempts to bring together Libya’s rival armed factions under the GNA and stabilize a country where chaos allowed Islamist terrorists and migrant smugglers to operate across swaths of territory.

Control by Haftar’s brigades will also raise questions for the market about the legality of crude exports by a force opposed to the internatio­nally recognized government.

A government and parliament based in the east still resist the GNA’s authority in Tripoli and they have in the past threatened to try to sell crude themselves.

The ports targeted by the LNA were previously under the control of the Petrol Facilities Guard, which struck a deal with the GNA in July to end its blockade of Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitina.

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