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| Africa North |
| Libya: Haftar Forces Repel GNA Militaries’ Attempts to Retake Oil Crescent |
| 2016-09-20 |
| [North Africa Post] Libyan National Army (LNA) forces, led by military veteran Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... , Sunday pushed back attempts by the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) to re-take two oil ports that they had lost several days ago, reports say. LNA released pictures of destroyed vehicles, claiming they belong to the PFG, Libya Herald reports. PFG, commanded by Ibrahim Jadhran, an ally of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), launched attacks early Sunday to re-take Ras Lanuf and Sidra oil ports seized on September 11. Haftar’s forces, reportedly aided by UAE and Egyptian fighter jets, launched Injured fighters in the PFG camp were reportedly sent to Misrata hospital. Some other fighters have been incarcerated Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! and held captives by Haftar’s men. LNA forces announced one week ago control of Libya’s main oil ports formerly under the control of the PFG. The LNA and its political wing, the House of Representatives (HoR), placed the oil crescent under the control of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), which welcomed the LNA’s military action and quickly announced export of the Libyan oil. The move caused waves in Western capitals, which called for the immediate retreat of Haftar’s forces. GNA minister of defence Colonel Ahmed al-Gatrani condemned the Sunday aerial attacks against the PFG. More from Al-Arabiya Eastern Libyan forces said they had reestablished control over two oil ports where an ousted faction launched a counter-attack on Sunday, briefly seizing one of the terminals. The ports of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf were among four seized by forces lead by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) on Sept. 11-12 from a Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) faction led by Ibrahim Jathran. The fighting came as the state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) prepared to restart oil exports from the ports, blockaded for several years. The NOC said the Maltese-flagged Seadelta, which had been loading from storage at Ras Lanuf had withdrawn to a safe distance, but that it hoped normal operations would resume by Monday morning. The Seadelta was the first tanker to dock there for some two years. LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said forces lead by Haftar had repelled an attack at Ras Lanuf with the help of air strikes, and were pursuing Jathran forces fleeing from Es Sider, where they had taken control earlier in the day. A Libyan oil industry source confirmed that the LNA controlled both oil ports. The clashes raise fears of a new conflict over Libya’s oil resources. Jathran’s PFG had aligned itself with a U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, while Haftar is a divisive figure whose opponents accuse of trying to establish military rule. Fighting and political disputes have reduced oil output in the North African country to a fraction of the 1.6 million barrels per day the OPEC member produced before a 2011 uprising. |
| Posted by:Fred |