Libya's Haftar Maintains Alert Level in Oil Crescent

A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Aidan Lewis
A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Aidan Lewis
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Libya's Haftar Maintains Alert Level in Oil Crescent

A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Aidan Lewis
A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Aidan Lewis

Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar stressed the need to remain on maximum alert in the Oil Crescent region.

During his meeting Wednesday with heads of military units, Haftar said in a statement that he was briefed on the success of the armed forces in defeating terrorist groups.

Libya's Mellitah Oil and Gas company announced on Thursday that one of its gas stations in western Libya exploded in a sabotage attack.

"Station No. 15, located along the gas pipeline linking Mellitah and Al-Wafa (gas) fields, has been subject to sabotage," the company said in a statement.

The company added that "an explosive device was planted in the station and it was set on fire," but emergency and firefighting teams managed to extinguish the blaze.

Meanwhile, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) denounced the attack by an armed group on the office of the CEO of the Brega oil and gas marketing company.

The NOC said the armed group is part of the Central Security Department in Tripoli, calling for a meeting with Emad Bin Kora - the CEO.

In another context, United Nations envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame said that he backs the proposal of holding presidential and parliamentary elections to resolve the problem of legitimacy and the duality of institutions in the legislative and executive authorities.



Musk Calls Lebanese President as Starlink Seeks License

FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition, March 9, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition, March 9, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
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Musk Calls Lebanese President as Starlink Seeks License

FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition, March 9, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition, March 9, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun spoke by phone to discuss making elements of Musk's sprawling business empire available in Lebanon, a statement from Aoun's office said on Thursday.

The statement said Musk called Aoun and "expressed his interest in Lebanon and its telecommunications and internet sectors".

Aoun invited Musk to visit Lebanon and said he was open to having Musk's companies present in the country, which ranks among the countries with the lowest internet speeds, Reuters reported.

The call came just weeks after Aoun and other top Lebanese officials met with Starlink's Global Director of Licensing and Development, Sam Turner, in Beirut for talks on providing satellite internet services in Lebanon. US ambassador Lisa Johnson was pictured attending those meetings.

The negotiations have prompted some pushback in Lebanon. Internet access in the country has so far been operated exclusively by state-owned companies and their affiliates, who are lobbying the government not to license Starlink.

Starlink recently received licenses to operate in India and Lesotho.