United States calls for Libya oil operations resumption
Tripoli, Tuesday
The United States called Tuesday for an immediate resumption of Libya’s lifeline oil exports that have been blocked by forces loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar since last week.
“The suspension of National Oil Corporation (NOC) operations risks exacerbating the humanitarian emergency in #Libya and inflicting further needless suffering on the Libyan people,” the US embassy in Tripoli tweeted.
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“NOC operations should resume immediately,” it said.
Haftar’s forces, at war with fighters loyal to the UN-recognised Government of National Accord, blocked oil exports from Libya’s main ports on Saturday, a day before an international peace conference.
The move to cripple the country’s main income source was a protest against Turkey’s decision to send troops to shore up Haftar’s rivals.
The disruption was expected to more than halve daily crude output to 500,000 barrels from 1.3 million barrels, leading to losses of $55 million (Sh5.5 billion) a day, the NOC warned.
The oil-rich North African country has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi and toppled his regime.
Libya has had no stable central authority since leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown by NATO-backed rebels in 2011. For more than five years it has had two rival governments in the east and the west, with streets controlled by armed groups.
Haftar, the east’s most powerful figure, has won backing from a range of foreign allies for an assault to capture Tripoli in the west, while Turkish support for Tripoli’s effort to repel him has turned the conflict into a proxy war. -Agencies
