Militia Seizes Libyan Oil Terminals in Challenge to Government

By Suliman Ali Zway and Declan Walsh, NY Times, Sept. 11, 2016

BERLIN–Fighting erupted in Libya’s oil crescent on Sunday when forces loyal to the dominant militia commander in eastern Libya attacked and seized as many as three major oil terminals, military and civilian officials said.

The sudden offensive from the commander, Gen. Khalifa Hifter, adds a new layer to Libya’s multifaceted civil war, and presents a fresh challenge to the authority of the already weak unity government backed by the United Nations.

General Hifter’s forces attacked the oil ports of Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitina early Sunday, said Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for General Hifter’s Libyan National Army. Since 2013, the ports have been held by a smaller militia known as the Petroleum Facilities Guard, led by Ibrahim Jathran.

In July, Mr. Jathran signed an agreement with the unity government to resume oil exports from Libya, ending a three-year-old embargo. But on Sunday, his soldiers had been expelled from Ras Lanuf and Es Sider, though there were reports of continuing fighting at Zueitina.

General Hifter’s military gambit puts him on a collision course with the unity government even as international scrutiny of Libya intensifies. The contested oil region lies 50 miles east of Surt, the coastal city where Western-allied militias backed by American airstrikes are laying siege to the main Islamic State base in Libya.

Oil, Libya’s main source of wealth, has always been a central factor in the complex civil conflict that erupted after the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011.

The country’s central bank reserves, drawn from oil income, have rapidly been depleted this year, causing a plunge in the Libyan currency and economic pain. But political and factional rivalries have thwarted efforts to resume oil production.

General Hifter, who is based in the eastern city of Benghazi, has long resisted joining the unity government that established itself in Tripoli in March. He has also opposed efforts by other groups to resume oil exports.