Fires at Libya's Zawiya Refinery Brought Under Control, NOC Says

General view of the Libyan state National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, Libya July 14, 2022. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed/File Photo
General view of the Libyan state National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, Libya July 14, 2022. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed/File Photo
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Fires at Libya's Zawiya Refinery Brought Under Control, NOC Says

General view of the Libyan state National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, Libya July 14, 2022. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed/File Photo
General view of the Libyan state National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, Libya July 14, 2022. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed/File Photo

Fires that broke out in a number of reservoirs in Libya's Zawiya refinery have been brought under control, Khaled Abulgasem Gulam, spokesperson for the country's National Oil Corporation (NOC), said in a statement on Sunday.

Zawiya, 40 km (25 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, is home to Libya's biggest functioning refinery, with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. The refinery is connected to the country's 300,000 bpd Sharara oilfield.

Teams at the refinery are transferring the remaining contents to other reservoirs, Gulam said, Reuters reported.

Earlier on Sunday, NOC declared force majeure after reservoirs at the Zawiya refinery were severely damaged due to ongoing clashes between armed groups in its vicinity.

There was no immediate indications of who was involved in the violence or the reason for it.

NOC posted pictures on Facebook showing firefighting teams extinguishing the fires.

Libya's oil sector, a major source of income for the country, has been a target for local and broader political protests as well as security unrest since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.



White House Urges Hamas to Sign on to New Deal to Ensure Hostage Release

Palestinian boys examine a car targeted in an Israeli army strike that killed several of its occupants in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinian boys examine a car targeted in an Israeli army strike that killed several of its occupants in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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White House Urges Hamas to Sign on to New Deal to Ensure Hostage Release

Palestinian boys examine a car targeted in an Israeli army strike that killed several of its occupants in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinian boys examine a car targeted in an Israeli army strike that killed several of its occupants in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The Biden administration is urging Hamas to sign on to a new ceasefire deal that would ensure the release of hostages, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday.

Kirby said the White House welcomed Israel's decision to send another team to Doha to continue negotiations.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to mediate a deal for a ceasefire and hostage release for a year with no success and are making another push this month before Donald Trump's inauguration.
Ceasefire efforts have continually stumbled on a fundamental disagreement over how to end the conflict. Hamas says it will accept an agreement and release the hostages only if Israel commits to ending the war. Israel says it will agree to stop fighting only once Hamas is destroyed.

On Friday, Hamas said it wanted "a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip" and the return of displaced people to their homes in all areas of the enclave.

US President Joe Biden has repeatedly called for a ceasefire agreement. Trump has said that if there is not a deal to release the hostages before his inauguration, "all hell is going to break out.”