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.



UN Calls for Independent Probe into Civilians Harmed Trying to Get Food in Gaza

 Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
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UN Calls for Independent Probe into Civilians Harmed Trying to Get Food in Gaza

 Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday slammed as "unacceptable" the deaths of Palestinians seeking food aid in Gaza, a spokesman said, calling the loss of life in the territory "unthinkable".

"The Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for the perpetrators to be held to account," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"We are witnessing unthinkable loss of life in Gaza (and) the secretary-general condemns the loss of lives and injuries of Palestinians seeking aid," he said. "It is unacceptable civilians are risking and in several instances losing their lives just trying to get food."

At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local health authorities said, in the third day of chaos and bloodshed to affect the aid operation.

A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters that its field hospital in Rafah received 184 casualties, adding that 19 of those were declared dead upon arrival, and eight died of their wounds shortly after.

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched its first distribution sites last week in an effort to alleviate widespread hunger amongst Gaza's war-battered population, most of whom have had to abandon their homes to flee fighting.

The Foundation's aid plan, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the United Nations and established charities which say it does not follow humanitarian principles.

The private group, which is endorsed by Israel, said it distributed 21 truckloads of food early on Tuesday and that the aid operation was "conducted safely and without incident within the site".

However, there have been reports of repeated killings near Rafah as crowds gather to get desperately needed supplies.

On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials reported that at least 31 people were killed and dozens more injured. On Monday, three more Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli fire.

The Israeli military has denied targeting civilians gathering for aid and called reports of deaths during Sunday’s distribution "fabrications" by Hamas.