Libyan Militias Set Fire to Storage Tanks in Renewed Push for Oil, Foreign Minister Says
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Version 0 of 1. CAIRO — Libya’s foreign minister said Sunday that militant groups were making a renewed push to seize oil resources, after an assault on eastern terminals set storage tanks ablaze, sending huge clouds of black smoke into the sky. Foreign Minister Mohamed Dayri of Libya’s internationally recognized government, speaking in Cairo, said the assault had been carried out by militias based in the western city of Misurata and loyal to a rival Islamist-backed government in Tripoli. Mr. Dayri said the attacks had forced a shutdown of the country’s largest shipping terminal. Since the overthrow of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi three years ago, Libya has become divided by opposing factions. Rival governments and armed groups claim support from separate parts of the country. A Libya oil corporation official, Mohammed al-Harari, said late Saturday that 850,000 barrels of oil had been lost because of the fire in five storage tanks. Fighting has erupted around Libya’s largest oil terminal, Sidra, which is currently under the control of anti-Islamist militiamen allied with the internationally recognized government based in the eastern city of Tobruk. The Tripoli-based government had vowed this month to “liberate” Sidra. Airstrikes were reported on Sunday in Misurata for the first time, in what appeared to be a response to the attack on the oil terminals. Ahmed al-Musmari, a spokesman for the Tobruk-led army, told Libya’s al-Wasat news website that the airstrikes were aimed at bases used by militia fighters who were attacking the army troops. A security official in Misurata said the airstrikes had been near the airport, with one missile striking about 300 yards from an airport tower but missing the tarmac. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said that one airstrike had caused the suspension of a Turkish Airlines flight but that no casualties had been reported. The United Nations support mission in Libya condemned the airstrikes in Misurata on Sunday. Mr. Dayri, the foreign minister for the Tobruk government, claimed that extremists, some of whom have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, had expanded their presence in Libya, though many of the militias in the country are not driven by Islamist or extremist views. “We as Libyans are concerned,” he said. “But the Arab world and the international community should be, too, because of the desire of these extremist terrorist groups to reach oil resources and revenues. This is a dangerous matter.” Talks between the rival governments, sponsored by the United Nations, are scheduled for Jan. 5. |