A Libyan rebel leader said Sunday his group won't let oil ports reopen because his demands for greater regional autonomy hadn't been met.
A Libyan rebel leader said Sunday his group won't let oil ports reopen
because his demands for greater regional autonomy hadn't been met.
The news came despite an announcement last week that leaders of
tribes--including one to which the militiaman belongs--had agreed to end the
terminals' blockade.
"We have failed to reach an agreement on the conditions...therefore, the
ports will not be reopened," Ibrahim al-Jathran, the leader of the main
militia blocking the ports, was quoted as saying on a Facebook page
representing him.
An assistant to Mr. al-Jathran confirmed his announcement but said Mr.
al-Jathran wasn't available for comment.
Mr. al-Jathran, who maintains he is seeking oil-revenue control for the eastern
province
of
Cyrenaica
, has
kept several oil terminals closed for more than four months, reducing the
country's exports to a trickle. He set three conditions for the ports to be reopened:
an investigation by an independent judicial committee of the management of oil
revenue, formation of a commission by
Libya
's
three main provinces to supervise oil exports, and adherence to a 1951
constitution that enshrined a federal system.
The Cyrenaica Transitional Council, a movement to which Mr. al-Jathran belongs,
supports the 1951 constitution, which was abolished when Col. Moammar Gadhafi
engineered his coup in 1969. The federalist group advocate for a federal system
of government, notably the sharing of oil revenue between the country's three
main regions.
Government officials and lawmakers last week said an agreement had been reached
between tribal leaders to reopen the port in exchange for greater regional
oversight of oil exports.
But earlier Sunday, Mr. al-Jathran distanced himself from the deal, which he
hadn't explicitly rejected. "The decision is not in the hands of one tribe
or one side but is a matter for all the components of the Barka [Cyrenaica]
province," he was quoted as saying on his Facebook page
On another federalist website, he also reiterated his group would start to
market oil from the terminals he controls. Oil experts, however, say no
international buyer would risk purchasing from him.
On another Libyan Facebook page, Mr. al-Jathran Sunday warned he had the
military power to respond to the government "should it consider ending the
siege by using military force."
Libya
's
embattled central government has previously warned it would send
forces--effectively other militia loyal to
Tripoli
--to
restore control of the ports.
As of Sunday morning, however, none of the blocked oil ports--located in the
center and east of the country--had restarted operations, oil officials said.
"I am not very optimistic," one top official at the country's
National Oil Co. said.
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