Abduction of Former Libyan Minister Sparks Oil Field Closures

Angry Libyans shut down the 108 field. (Petroleum Facilities Guard)
Angry Libyans shut down the 108 field. (Petroleum Facilities Guard)
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Abduction of Former Libyan Minister Sparks Oil Field Closures

Angry Libyans shut down the 108 field. (Petroleum Facilities Guard)
Angry Libyans shut down the 108 field. (Petroleum Facilities Guard)

One of Libya's two rival administrations has accused the country's security agency of abducting a former finance minister, and a tribal leader said Friday that the abduction prompted the shutdown of four southern oilfields.

In a series of statements issued Thursday, Libya's House of Representatives said the country's Internal Security Agency had kidnapped the former finance minister, Faraj Bumatari, at an airport on the outskirts of the capital, Tripoli. It said head of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - an ally of the security agency's chief - is now responsible for Bumatari's safety.

The alleged abduction took place on Tuesday, according to Libyan media, and the minister's whereabouts remain unknown. Dbeibah’s office has not responded to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Torn apart by conflict since 2011, Libya is divided between two rival governments. The House of Representatives is seated in the eastern city of Tobruk, while its rival chamber and Dbeibah are based in Tripoli.

In response to the abduction, Libya's southern al-Zawi tribe — from which Bumatari hails — led the shutdown of four inland oil fields on Thursday, one of the group's leaders, al-Senussi al-Zawi, told the AP.

Among the four sites to have purportedly stopped production is the southwestern Sharara field, one of the country’s largest, which produces hundreds of thousands of barrels a day, he said.

“Our main demand is the release of the minister,” the tribal leader said, who spoke on the phone from the eastern city of Benghazi on Friday.

The three other sites purported to have stopped production are the El-Feel field, the Ibn Tufal field, and the 108 field, he said.

Libya’s state-run National Oil Company has not commented.

In a statement published Thursday evening, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya said it was concerned about reports of Bumatari’s abduction and the closure of oil fields, calling for the shutdown to end.

Al-Zawi said he believes the governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Saddeq el-Keber, and Dbeibah were behind the kidnapping, as Bumatari was a candidate to replace el-Keber as head of the bank.

Libya's prized oil output has been subjected to repeated closures for different political reasons and local protesters’ demands during the chaotic decade since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against former leader Moammar al-Gaddafi.

Last year, local tribal leaders briefly shut down the Sharara field amid a stand-off between the two rival governments.

The incident comes as the rival chambers continue to mull over a series of electoral laws for potential unifying elections amid growing pressure from the United Nations to end a decade of political deadlock.

In 2021, a UN-brokered process installed the interim GNU with the aim of holding country to elections later that year. The elections were never held following disagreements over several key issues, including the eligibility for presidential candidacy.



Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Dermer updated Blinken on operational changes and policy decisions taken by Israel in response to a US letter sent in October, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the statement.