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US Says Haftar Committed to Ending Oil Blockade

Khalifa Haftar Photographer: Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images
Khalifa Haftar Photographer: Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images
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US Says Haftar Committed to Ending Oil Blockade

Khalifa Haftar Photographer: Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images
Khalifa Haftar Photographer: Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images

Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar said he was committed to ending a months-long blockade of oil facilities, the US Embassy in the country revealed in a statement Saturday.

It said the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) had conveyed "the personal commitment of General Haftar to allow the full reopening of the energy sector no later than Sept. 12."

In a letter to Haftar, US Ambassador to Tripoli Richard Norland noted that the embassy said that “in recent discussions with a broad range of Libyan leaders” it had backed “a financial model that would constitute a credible guarantee that oil and gas revenues would be managed transparently”.

“The Embassy welcomes what appears to be a Libyan consensus that it is time to reopen the energy sector,” it added.

Meanwhile, Libyans are suffering a severe crisis in the electricity sector due to the blockade in addition to the pandemic and the threat posed by foreign mercenaries and armed groups on the energy infrastructure.

Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mustafa Sanallah stressed during his meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas - days earlier - the urgent need to put an end promptly to the blockade of oil facilities in Libya.

Maas, for his part, called for ending the blockade and added that his country is following up on all exerted efforts in this regard.

Haftar’s LNA and its backers imposed the blockade during January, reducing Libya’s oil output from more than one million barrels per day (bpd) to less than 100,000 bpd, and further deepening Libya’s economic collapse.

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Kabbashi: Sudan War Nearing End, Arms Proliferation Poses Major Threat

Shams al-Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and deputy commander of the army, said his government has no objection to delivering aid to other states, provided guarantees are in place (Sudan News Agency)
Shams al-Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and deputy commander of the army, said his government has no objection to delivering aid to other states, provided guarantees are in place (Sudan News Agency)
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Kabbashi: Sudan War Nearing End, Arms Proliferation Poses Major Threat

Shams al-Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and deputy commander of the army, said his government has no objection to delivering aid to other states, provided guarantees are in place (Sudan News Agency)
Shams al-Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and deputy commander of the army, said his government has no objection to delivering aid to other states, provided guarantees are in place (Sudan News Agency)

The war in Sudan is nearing its end, a top military official said on Saturday, warning that the widespread availability of weapons could pose one of the biggest threats to the country’s stability in the post-war period.
Shams al-Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and deputy commander of the army, told state governors in the temporary capital of Port Sudan that arms proliferation is a “major danger awaiting the state.”
“The areas that have been retaken must be handed over to the police for administration,” Kabbashi said, stressing that civilian policing, not military control, should take over in recaptured territories.
He also pointed to the need to redeploy troops currently stationed at checkpoints and security outposts in liberated regions. “We need these forces on other frontlines,” he said.
Kabbashi described the rise in hate speech triggered by the conflict as “unacceptable” and warned that Sudan would face deep social challenges once the fighting stops.
According to Kabbashi, the Sudanese armed forces are in a strong position after initial setbacks at the start of the war, as the military seeks to shift focus to restoring internal security and supporting civil governance in liberated areas.
“The situation of the armed forces and supporting units is more than good,” said Kabbashi. “We were in a bad place at the beginning of the war — now we are more than fine.”
Kabbashi added that army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is highly focused on ensuring public safety across the country, calling security “a top priority, ahead of all other services.”
He warned, however, that Sudan faces deeper challenges beyond the battlefield. “The plot against Sudan is bigger than the militia we’re fighting — they are only the front,” Kabbashi said, referring to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) without naming them directly.
He pointed to rising crime, widespread weapons, and looting as major security threats that emerged during the war, saying state authorities would have a significant role to play in restoring order.
Kabbashi urged state governors to back police forces in their efforts to maintain law and order, emphasizing that police support is “urgently needed” during the current transitional phase.