Category: Libya

Libyan security officials say heavy fighting has broken out in the eastern city of Benghazi between forces loyal to a rogue general and Islamic militias. The officials say gunbattles started early Monday when a group of militants attacked Benghazi’s security headquarters where some of Gen. Khalifa Hifter’s forces are based. The officials are also saying that helicopter gunships flown by pilots loyal to the general have been bombing the base of the February 17 militia, as well as positions of another militia, the militant Ansar al-Shariah group, on the city’s western outskirts. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. The Benghazi-based Hifter is leading a military campaign against Islamists dominating Libya’s political scene. He has vowed to crush them.

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Libyan security officials say heavy fighting has broken out in the eastern city of Benghazi between forces loyal to a rogue general and Islamic militias. The officials say gunbattles started early Monday when a group of militants attacked Benghazi’s security headquarters where some of Gen. Khalifa Hifter’s forces are based. The officials are also saying that helicopter gunships flown by pilots loyal to the general have been bombing the base of the February 17 militia, as well as positions of another militia, the militant Ansar al-Shariah group, on the city’s western outskirts. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. The Benghazi-based Hifter is leading a military campaign against Islamists dominating Libya’s political scene. He has vowed to crush them.

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Heavy fighting is ongoing in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, apparently between the armed group Ansar al-Shariah and irregular forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, a former army general. Witnesses said on Monday that gunfire, which began the day before, could be heard across the city, particularly coming from a special forces army base in a western suburb of Benghazi. News agencies reported that at least seven people have died and about a dozen have been wounded in the fighting. Haftar is campaigning  to rid Libya of fighters that he says the government has failed to control. Suleiman El Dressi, a Benghazi resident in the area of the clashes, told Al Jazeera that two people had been killed as a result of explosions there. "Residents are at home and they are very scared, waiting for the clashes to be over," he said. "Central government cannot control anything happening here, […]

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Heavy fighting is ongoing in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, apparently between the armed group Ansar al-Shariah and irregular forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, a former army general. Witnesses said on Monday that gunfire, which began the day before, could be heard across the city, particularly coming from a special forces army base in a western suburb of Benghazi. News agencies reported that at least seven people have died and about a dozen have been wounded in the fighting. Haftar is campaigning  to rid Libya of fighters that he says the government has failed to control. Suleiman El Dressi, a Benghazi resident in the area of the clashes, told Al Jazeera that two people had been killed as a result of explosions there. "Residents are at home and they are very scared, waiting for the clashes to be over," he said. "Central government cannot control anything happening here, […]

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South Sudan has received over $3.5 billion from the sale of crude oil between June 2013 and May 2014, the country’s oil minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said in a statement made available to Platts in the capital Juba on Sunday. "As from June 2013 to May 2014, South Sudan sold a total of 35.5 million barrels (97,260 b/d) from both Nile and Dar Blends," Dau said in the statement released on Friday but distributed to journalists later. Of the total sales, South Sudan paid Sudan $857 million for both tariffs and Transitional Financial Arrangements, or TFA, Dau said. South Sudan’s crude oil passes through the two cross-border pipelines in Sudan to facilities near Port Sudan on the Red Sea for export. Dau said the net amount realized by South Sudan — determined after all payments were made to Sudan, and $788 million made for payments or settlement of loans […]

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The chairman of the Libyan National Oil Corp. said the government aims to hold an auction for new oil licenses once political hurdles are cleared. Companies interested in investing in Libya, once a premier North African oil producer, have said the nation’s troubled security sector and tough contractual terms are keeping them at bay. NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanallah told potential investors at an energy conference in London another bidding round is expected once a permanent government is formed and new draft oil laws are ready. "Hopefully by next year the situation will be very clear," he said Thursday. The latest monthly market report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Libya is a member, says the North African nation produced 238,000 barrels of oil per day in April, down from the first quarter average of 364,000 bpd and well below its 2012 level of 1.4 million bpd. […]

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LONDON—Prolonged closures in Libya’s oil fields are set to delay a return to normal output, a senior official said Friday—even after production at the country’s largest oil field is restarted. Speaking at the third New Libya Oil and Gas Forum in London, Anwar Agil, head of production management at Libya’s National Oil Corporation, said a return to normal production at the country’s largest oil field could be delayed by four months because more than 20 underground pumps needed to be replaced. The Sharara field, in western Libya, which is operated by Spain’s Repsol SA, is currently shut after being occupied by local protesters seeking better redistribution of oil revenue. Underground pumps there have been repeatedly switched on and off amid false starts. The field has the capacity to produce 340,000 barrels a day—more than a fifth of Libya’s normal output of about 1.5 million barrels a day. But even […]

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The US State Department has recommended that Americans leave Libya immediately in its latest travel warning amid worsening unrest in the North African country. The department said on Tuesday that the security situation in Libya "remains unpredictable and unstable", with crime levels high in many parts of the country. The advisory came amid reports newly elected Libyan Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteg had escaped unharmed after his residence was . The State Department added that various groups also had called for attacks against US citizens and US interests in Libya. "Due to security concerns, the Department of State has limited staffing at Embassy Tripoli and is only able to offer very limited emergency services to US citizens in Libya," the travel warning said. "Because of the presumption that foreigners, especially US citizens, in Libya may be associated with the US government or US NGOs, travellers should be aware that they […]

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Libya’s prime minister, who was recently approved in a contested parliamentary vote, was unharmed in an attack on his home that set off a gun battle with guards, a government official said. The official said four attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades at the house of Ahmed Maiteg early on Tuesday, sparking clashes with security guards. One of the assailants was killed and another was arrested while the rest fled, the official said, speaking to the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity. Maiteg was named prime minister in a vote deemed illegitimate by religious hardline lawmakers. The appointment escalated a political crisis pitting lawmakers and fighters against forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar, who has launched an armed campaign to try to restore order, three years after the revolt that toppled and killed Muammar Gaddafi. Thousands of Libyans have held demonstrations in recent days demanding the elected assembly halt sessions and accusing […]

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Libya’s prime minister, who was recently approved in a contested parliamentary vote, was unharmed in an attack on his home that set off a gun battle with guards, a government official said. The official said four attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades at the house of Ahmed Maiteg early on Tuesday, sparking clashes with security guards. One of the assailants was killed and another was arrested while the rest fled, the official said, speaking to the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity. Maiteg was named prime minister in a vote deemed illegitimate by religious hardline lawmakers. The appointment escalated a political crisis pitting lawmakers and fighters against forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar, who has launched an armed campaign to try to restore order, three years after the revolt that toppled and killed Muammar Gaddafi. Thousands of Libyans have held demonstrations in recent days demanding the elected assembly halt sessions and accusing […]

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