Libya Sees New Pipeline Sabotage at Zueitina Port

Libya Sees New Pipeline Sabotage at Zueitina Port

Another Libyan pipeline south of the Zueitina port leading from oilfields to an export terminal was recently damaged in an attack and is being repaired. It was not clear who carried out the attack, but Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants have been active in the area in recent weeks, Al Arabiya reported. The export terminal was closed already last year due to a conflict between Libya’s rival governments.

According to the Head of the Libyan National Oil Company, Mustafa Sanalla, the country has already lost some $68b in oil sales amid political infighting since 2013. Sanalla expressed a belief that Libya would fall further into a chaos if its factions do not form a unity government quickly, AP reported. He argued that without a single government, there would be “neither security nor stability;” and “this vacuum will permit the other terrorist group and extremist groups to step in.”

Sanalla’s appeal came a week after representatives of Libya’s rival factions announced they would attempt to create a government of unity to stabilize the country engulfed in chaos since 2011. The United Nations is trying to broker a single government featuring the country’s two factions — one based in Tripoli and the second, internationally recognized in the east. With each side backed by its own fighters, militants allied with IS have gained strength, and continue destroying Libyan oil facilities, a series of worst attacks came in January 2016.

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