Protesters in Libya Threaten to Shut Down Oil and Gas Facilities

A general view shows Libya's Sharara oilfield on December 3, 2014. (Reuters)
A general view shows Libya's Sharara oilfield on December 3, 2014. (Reuters)
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Protesters in Libya Threaten to Shut Down Oil and Gas Facilities

A general view shows Libya's Sharara oilfield on December 3, 2014. (Reuters)
A general view shows Libya's Sharara oilfield on December 3, 2014. (Reuters)

Protesters have threatened to shut down two oil and gas facilities near the Libyan capital Tripoli, with one group that is campaigning against corruption issuing a 72-hour ultimatum that ends on Friday.
The group called the Corruption Eradication Movement said in a video statement online that it would "stop the pumping of gas from the Mellitah complex", a joint venture between Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) and Italy's Eni.
Any halt would disrupt the supply of gas through the Greenstream pipeline between Libya and Italy.
Eni declined to comment and NOC was not immediately available for comment on the latest threat.
The protesters demanded the removal of NOC Chairman Farhat Bengdara over what they called “violations amounting to the level of crime".
They also demanded Bengdara be prevented from concluding any oil and gas agreements.
Other demands included job opportunities for young people in areas near the oil facilities and preventing environmental pollution.
"If the authorities do not respond to our demands, the movement may develop into civil disobedience," the group's spokesman Salem Mohamed told Reuters by phone.
Libya's oil sector, the country's major source of income, has been a target for local and broader political protests since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
Local groups and larger national ones alike have sought a bigger share of state revenue as well as political changes.
It was unclear whether the latest protesters have the capacity to close facilities.
The movement has said it would close NOC's Zawiya refinery, west of Tripoli, which can process 120,000 barrels per day, making it the country's biggest functioning refinery.
The refinery is connected to the 3000,000 bpd Sharara field. NOC declared force majeure on Sunday in Sharara production.
The field was closed by protesters from the Fezzan region in the south of the country last week to press demands for “better services”.
NOC said that the closure of Sharara suspended the crude oil supplies to Zawiya terminal.
It also said on Tuesday that Bengdara met with Fezzan region leaders to discuss the repercussions of the force majeure.



Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners

Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
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Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners

Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Israel said early Sunday the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners is delayed “until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies” at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza.

The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office came as military vehicles that normally move in advance of the buses carrying prisoners left the open gates of Ofer prison, only to turn around and go back in.

The release of 620 Palestinian prisoners had been delayed for several hours and was meant to occur just after six Israeli hostages were released on Saturday. It was meant to be the largest one-day prisoner release in the Gaza ceasefire’s first phase.

Israel’s announcement abruptly put the future of the truce into further doubt.
The Palestinian Authority’s commission for prisoners’ affairs confirmed the delay “until further notice.” Associated Press video in the West Bank showed prisoners’ families, waiting outdoors in near-freezing weather, apparently dispersing. One woman was shown walking away in tears.

Five of the six hostages freed Saturday had been escorted by masked, armed militants in front of a crowd — a display that the UN and Red Cross have criticized as cruel after previous handovers.
The Israeli statement cited “ceremonies that demean the dignity of our hostages and the cynical use of the hostages for propaganda purposes.” It was likely a reference to a Hamas video showing two hostages who have yet to be released watching a handover in Gaza on Saturday and speaking under duress.
The six were the last living hostages expected to be freed under the ceasefire's first phase, with a week remaining in the initial stage. Talks on the ceasefire’s second phase are yet to start.
The six included three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival and another taken while visiting family in southern Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the 16-month war in Gaza. The two others were held for a decade after entering Gaza on their own.
Five were handed over in staged ceremonies.

The 620 Palestinian prisoners meant to be freed include 151 serving life or other sentences for attacks against Israelis. Almost 100 would be deported, according to the Palestinian prisoners' media office.
A Palestinian prisoner rights association said they include Nael Barghouti, who spent over 45 years in prison for an attack that killed an Israeli bus driver.
Also meant to be released are 445 men, 23 children aged 15 to 19, and a woman, all seized by Israeli troops in Gaza without charge during the war.