Libya militias fight near oil terminals; 11 dead

By Jihad Nasr

TRIPOLI (AA) – At least 11 people were killed Friday in clashes between rival militias near oil terminals in eastern Libya.

Forces of the Benghazi Defense Brigades (BDB) attacked troops loyal to the East Libya-based government in Libya’s eastern Oil Crescent, according to eyewitnesses.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar retaliated with airstrikes against BDB forces, they said.

A TV channel quoted BDB commander Yassir al-Jibali as saying BDB forces had seized control of oil terminals in the area.

“Haftar’s forces carried out airstrikes to hinder our troops from advancing, but no casualties were reported among us,” he said.

Haftar’s forces, for their part, denied claims that BDB troops had seized control of oil terminals in the area.

A statement by the East Libya-based parliament said a soldier and ten “terrorists” had been killed in the clashes.

Haftar’s forces have taken Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, Brega and Zueitina oil ports in eastern Libya in September.

The oil terminals at Es Sider and Ras Lanuf are two of Libya's largest, with potential combined production capacity of about 600,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Libya has been wracked by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with the ouster and death of Muammar Gaddafi after 42 years in power.

In the wake of the uprising, the country’s stark political divisions yielded two rival seats of government, one in Tobruk and the other in Tripoli.

In an effort to resolve the political standoff, Libya’s rival governments signed a UN-backed agreement in late 2015 establishing a government of national unity.