Category: Libya

A Libyan military police chief said he disbanded parliament after a militia group he backs stormed it yesterday, spreading violence in the energy-rich nation to its capital and sending world oil prices higher. In a televised speech late yesterday preceded by clashes, Mukhtar Fernana said parliament will be replaced by a 60-member group. Nuri Abu Sahmain, the head of the General National Congress, denied that it had been suspended and said yesterday he was running it from a “safe place,” the state-run Libyan News Agency reported. Fernana said he won’t allow Libya to become a safe-haven for extremists or a “home for terrorists.” The assault, he said, was not a coup and reflects the “freedom that Libyans wanted and fought for.” Brent for July settlement increased as much as 49 cents to $110.24 a barrel on the London-based ICE Europe Futures exchange and was at $110.14 at 3:55 p.m. […]

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TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — An al-Qaida-inspired group in Libya said Monday it will fight troops loyal to a renegade general behind an attack on the country’s parliament the day before and join forces with Islamic militias who were targeted by the general’s secular followers. The announcement by the influential Lions of Monotheism Group further adds to the quagmire in Libya, three years after the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi. On Sunday, forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Hifter, a former rebel in the fight against Gadhafi, stormed the parliament in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, saying they were suspending the house in a struggle against Islamist lawmakers and officials whom they blame for allowing extremists to hold the country ransom. The attack saw militia members backed by truck-mounted anti-aircraft guns, mortars and rocket fire raid the parliament building in the heart of Tripoli, sending lawmakers fleeing for their lives as gunmen […]

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TRIPOLI, Libya — A retired Libyan general claimed responsibility for an attack on the Parliament building here on Sunday, two days after his irregular force launched an attack aimed at eradicating powerful Islamist militias from the eastern city of Benghazi. Militia members using antiaircraft weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and light arms engaged Sunday in some of the heaviest clashes in months here in the capital, killing two people and wounding 60, according to hospital officials cited by The Associated Press. The fighters’ affiliation was unclear, but militias from Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, claimed responsibility on social media, calling Parliament “the main backer of terrorism in Libya.” Mohamed el-Hejazi, a spokesman for Khalifa Heftar, the retired general, claimed in an interview that the fighters from Zintan had been acting on the general’s orders. He said: “They are not militias. They are units loyal to the Libyan National Army,” referring to a […]

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A former general who was a central figure in Libya ’s revolution led a full-scale ground and air assault on several Islamist militia bases in and around the city of Benghazi on Friday, declaring war against the groups that have been accused of conducting a campaign of lawlessness and assassinations. Two dozen people were reported killed in the fighting and dozens more wounded, according to news agencies. The former general, Khalifa Heftar , seemed to be acting on his own initiative, but gained support from members of the army in eastern Libya. A column of personnel and armored vehicles moved against three militia bases around the city early Friday. Jet fighters from the Benghazi air base flew low over the city and helicopters fired on at least one militia position. Libya’s caretaker prime minister, Abdullah al-Thinni, went on television to deny that the attack had been […]

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Libyan authorities closed the airport in the eastern city of Benghazi on Friday because of fighting between irregular forces of the self-declared Libyan National Army and Islamist militants, the airport’s director said. "We have closed the airport for the safety of passengers as there were clashes in the city. The airport will be reopened depending on the security situation," Ibrahim Farkash, director of Benghazi’s Benina airport, told Reuters. (Reporting by Ahmed Elumami and Ayman al-Warfalli; Editing by Mark Trevelyan )

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Libya’s El Feel oilfield has restarted production, National Oil Corp (NOC) said on Wednesday, as it moves slowly to restore some output following protests that closed fields and ports. The government said on Monday it had reached an agreement with protesters to reopen the western El Sharara, El Feel and Wafa oilfields and the pipelines connecting them to the Zawiya port. Expectations and doubts about the return of the oilfields have driven global oil prices this week. The El Sharara oilfield, the largest at 340,000 barrels per day (bpd), was still closed on Wednesday, because protesters had not yet opened the pipeline valve to the port, field manager Hassan Sadiq said. "They (protesters) reopened the valves for the Wafa and El-Feel oil fields but not for Sharara," he said. "We are ready to resume work once the valves are reopened." NOC spokesman Mohammed El […]

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Libya’s El Feel oilfield has restarted production, National Oil Corp (NOC) said on Wednesday, as it moves slowly to restore some output following protests that closed fields and ports. The government said on Monday it had reached an agreement with protesters to reopen the western El Sharara, El Feel and Wafa oilfields and the pipelines connecting them to the Zawiya port. Expectations and doubts about the return of the oilfields have driven global oil prices this week. The El Sharara oilfield, the largest at 340,000 barrels per day (bpd), was still closed on Wednesday, because protesters had not yet opened the pipeline valve to the port, field manager Hassan Sadiq said. "They (protesters) reopened the valves for the Wafa and El-Feel oil fields but not for Sharara," he said. "We are ready to resume work once the valves are reopened." NOC spokesman Mohammed El […]

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Operations in Libya for Austrian energy company OMV were curtailed sharply by security issues, CEO Gerhard Roiss said Tuesday. OMV said its production for first quarter 2014 was 311,000 barrels oil equivalent higher year-on-year. Roiss said in a statement production from his company’s portfolio in Norway helped offset losses from North Africa. "Libyan operations … were again impacted by security issues and production has been shut in since mid-March," he said in a statement . "We took several steps to further strengthen our upstream portfolio." OMV said the situation in Libya remains "very difficult to predict." Optimism over a rebound in the Libyan oil sector increased last month when the Libyan National Oil Company announced it lifted an emergency declaration on oil operations at its Zueitina terminal in the east of the country. OMV, however, said production from its operations in Libya has been shut […]

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he Jordanian ambassador to Libya, who was taken hostage by gunmen in the Libyan capital last month, was freed and returned to Jordan on Tuesday after his government agreed to release a Libyan citizen serving a life sentence on terrorism charges, officials in both countries said. The ambassador, Fawaz al-Itan, arrived at a military airport in Jordan on Tuesday and said he had been treated well in captivity. Nasser Judeh, the Jordanian foreign minister, said Mr. Itan’s captors had ties to the Libyan citizen, Mohamed el-Dressi, who was convicted in 2007 of plotting to blow up Jordan’s main international airport. He did not specify what those ties were. Mr. Dressi flew to Libya on Monday. The apparent exchange of Mr. Dressi for Mr. Itan immediately raised concerns that it would embolden militant groups in Libya, which have turned to kidnapping to win concessions at home and […]

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Libya’s daily oil output may double to 500,000 barrels today after protesters agreed to reopen pipelines carrying crude from fields in the country’s western region, according to officials. The valves at the Sharara field have reopened and oil will reach the Zawiya refinery within a few hours, Mansour Abdullah, an official at the refinery, said late yesterday. Earlier, National Oil Corp. spokesman Mohamed Elharari had said by phone from Tripoli that the Elephant, Hamada and Wafa fields, as well as Sharara, were due to resume production last night or this morning “and progressively increase output.” The protesters agreed to stop blocking oil shipments after the authorities started preparations to hold elections for a new parliament, Elharari said. Spokesmen for the protesters couldn’t immediately be reached by phone for comment. Repsol SA-operated Sharara and Eni SpA-operated Elephant are the largest fields in western Libya, with daily capacities of about 340,000 […]

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