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Egypt military kills 7 militants in volatile Sinai

Egyptian troops killed seven suspected militants and arrested five as part of an ongoing offensive in the volatile Sinai Peninsula where the military has been trying to quell a spreading insurgency by Islamic militants, an army spokesman said. According to a statement posted on Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir’s official Facebook page late Monday, the troops killed three militants in an exchange of fire while four others died when a group tried to attack a house of in the border town of Rafah. Five militants were arrested and five were wounded, the posting said but it was unclear if the five were the same people in both cases. Militant attacks in Sinai and elsewhere in Egypt have escalated since the military’s ouster last July of the country’s Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and its subsequent crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood supporters. Militant attacks have also at times spread […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Still Torn by Factional Fighting, Post-Revolt Libya Is Coming Undone

For weeks, rival Libyan militias had been pounding one another’s positions with artillery, mortar rounds and rockets in a desperate fight to control the international airport in the capital, Tripoli. Then suddenly, early Saturday morning, the fighting just stopped. The pause came as United States military warplanes circled overhead, providing air cover for a predawn evacuation of the American Embassy’s staff. Apparently fearing the planes, the militias held their fire just long enough for the ambassador and her staff to reach the Tunisian border — a reminder to Libyans of how even their most powerful allies were incapable of putting out their incendiary feuds. American officials said the evacuation was a temporary measure after fighting drew too close to the embassy. But, coming so soon after the withdrawal of other diplomatic missions, including the United Nations , the moment appeared to signal a defeat — for Libyans […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Voices from Libya’s armed struggle

Three years after toppling Gaddafi, the revolutionaries have turned on each other Making a stand: crowds in Tripoli come out in support of Gen Khalifa Haftar’s ‘dignity’ campaign against jihadist militias On a Friday afternoon in June in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, a street battle erupts for control of Martyrs Square. It is the first time that Libyans from both sides of an explosive political divide have fought each other for control of a space that represents the aspirations of the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammer Gaddafi. On the north side of the square stand the Islamists. Opposite them are a few hundred men and some women supporting the renegade General Khalifa Haftar’s “dignity” movement, which wants to crush the Islamists. At first the pro- and anti-Haftar crowds mostly throw water bottles and taunts at each other. Both sides chant the same slogans. “The blood of the martyrs […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Fighting in Tripoli Starts Fire in Fuel Complex Near Airport

Fighting between rival militia in Tripoli Sunday caused a storage tank containing petroleum fuel to catch fire at a complex near the Tripoli airport, oil and security officials in the Libyan capital said. A "tank containing 6.6 million liters of petrol" caught fire late Sunday as a result of fighting between rival militia vying for the control of Tripoli airport, one oil official said. The complex where the storage tank is located contains 90 million liters of fuel and cooking gas, sparking a risk of massive explosion, the official said The news comes after escalating violence led to the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli Saturday. Libya’s Ministry of Interior, which showed pictures of fire brigades trying to put down the fire on its Facebook page, said it was asking residents to leave the area. The news comes as Libya’s Ministry of Health said Sunday that the death […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Libya warns of 'humanitarian disaster' over fuel fire

The Libyan authorities have called for a ceasefire to allow firefighters to tackle the blaze Continue reading the main story Libya has requested international assistance to put out a fire at a large fuel storage site in Tripoli that was hit by a rocket during militia clashes. The huge blaze could cause a "humanitarian and environmental disaster," the government has warned. It is the largest facility in Tripoli, containing 6.6 million litres of fuel. At least 97 people have been killed in fighting between rival militia groups battling for control of Tripoli’s main airport in the past week. Fighting in the eastern city of Benghazi has also intensified, with at least 38 people killed in clashes between troops loyal to the Libyan government and Islamist fighters on Sunday. Calls for evacuation A statement by the prime minister’s office said it had requested international assistance "as a precaution". "Several countries […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Libya warns of ‘humanitarian disaster’ over fuel fire

The Libyan authorities have called for a ceasefire to allow firefighters to tackle the blaze Continue reading the main story Libya has requested international assistance to put out a fire at a large fuel storage site in Tripoli that was hit by a rocket during militia clashes. The huge blaze could cause a "humanitarian and environmental disaster," the government has warned. It is the largest facility in Tripoli, containing 6.6 million litres of fuel. At least 97 people have been killed in fighting between rival militia groups battling for control of Tripoli’s main airport in the past week. Fighting in the eastern city of Benghazi has also intensified, with at least 38 people killed in clashes between troops loyal to the Libyan government and Islamist fighters on Sunday. Calls for evacuation A statement by the prime minister’s office said it had requested international assistance "as a precaution". "Several countries […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Egypt: World Bank Gives Egypt U.S.$500 Million Gas Loan

Cairo — The World Bank has agreed to give Egypt a $500 million loan to provide 1.5 million houses in 11 governorates with natural gas lines. "The Egypt Household Natural Gas Connection Project will support the Egyptian government’s programme to replace household consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which is mostly imported, with grid-connected natural gas," the website said in a statement on Thursday. About 52 percent of the neighbourhoods this project targets have poverty rates higher than the country’s national average, the statement said. "We are pleased to help improve the delivery of energy services to the people of Egypt," said Hartwig Schafer, World Bank Country Director for Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti. "The project will provide financial support to finance the connection charges in disadvantaged areas so that poor households can also connect to the gas grid," said Husam Mohamed Beides, the project’s Task Team Leader. "We are […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Libyan Port of Brega to Restart Crude Shipments

Libya’s Eastern port of Brega is set to restart crude exports after a tanker arrived Thursday, the port said, as the North African country ramps up exports despite escalating violence in the capital. The Overseas Fran tanker arrived in Brega to load 750,000 barrels of crude which will be delivered to the Italian port of Genoa, the oil port said on its Facebook page. Shipping tracking website Marinetraffic.com confirmed the Overseas Fran was due to arrive Thursday in Brega. The news come after an agreement between the government and striking guards over wages paved the way for the port reopening Tuesday. There hasn’t been any crude-oil tanker leaving the port since late June, according to shipping-tracking website FleetMon.com. Earlier this week, exports of oil from the Sharara field also restarted after a five-month interruption. The developments come despite escalating violence in Libya’s capital Tripoli as rival militias fighting for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Egypt Seeks to Clinch LNG Deal With Algeria, But Will Pay High Price

;Egypt is set for an expensive price tag as it seeks to clinch a deal to import much-needed liquefied natural gas from Algeria, according to people familiar with talks between the two countries. Late last month gas-rich Algeria agreed in principle to supply Egypt with roughly five cargoes containing 145,000 cubic meters of LNG each before the end of the year. The deal, made during a visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to Algiers, is intended to alleviate Egypt’s energy crisis after talks for it to import more gas from Qatar broke down last August due to political tensions. "We had initially hoped that Algeria could be willing to give us a good discount or flexible credit terms, but as we stand we are likely to pay a high price for the deal," a senior Egyptian oil official said. "Algeria wants us to pay almost $13 per […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Libya May Offer Deeper Crude Discounts After Sale Fails

Libya is preparing a new pricing strategy for its crude exports that may include further discounts after a sales offer last week failed because potential buyers offered “unacceptable” prices, according to state-run National Oil Corp. Libya plans to offer different crude prices before the end of next month that will compensate customers for the additional risk of loading oil in the country, Ahmed Shawki, marketing director at National Oil, said by phone from Tripoli today. The country reduced July export prices for seven grades of crude by as much as $1.90 a barrel, according to a price list from National Oil obtained by Bloomberg News on July 18. “Tenders were not awarded because the price was unacceptable,” Shawki said. “They were meant to test the market as we prepare a pricing strategy.” Exports of oil from Libya were disrupted after political feuding closed oilfields and export terminals a year […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple