Guards at Libya Oilfields Halt Exports over Unpaid Wages

A photo shows Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Processing Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, Oct. 19, 2019. (Reuters)
A photo shows Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Processing Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, Oct. 19, 2019. (Reuters)
TT
20

Guards at Libya Oilfields Halt Exports over Unpaid Wages

A photo shows Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Processing Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, Oct. 19, 2019. (Reuters)
A photo shows Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Processing Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, Oct. 19, 2019. (Reuters)

Members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard responsible for protecting Libyan oil ports declared on Sunday that they have halted exports in protest against unpaid wages and unmet pledges.

The force is affiliated with the east-based Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar. Sunday’s move may pose a political and media embarrassment to Haftar, whose forces control vital oil ports in eastern Libya.

The guards announced the halt in production at the Es Sider, Hariga and Ras Lanuf ports until wages are paid and work conditions are improved.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland weighed in on the latest political efforts to resolve the North African country’s conflict.

In a statement carried by the US embassy, he said: “Members of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission have displayed courage and honor in standing up for the demands of the Libyan people that foreign forces leave and the October ceasefire agreement be fully implemented.”

“I similarly urge Libyans to support the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum to complete its work and am encouraged by the commencement of a one-week period for the submission of candidacies for the positions of a three-member Presidential Council and of prime minister, closing on 28 January,” he continued in a series of tweets.

“Libya has an opportunity to make real progress, culminating in elections in December of this year,” he said.

In regards to the polls, head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj, visited on Sunday the headquarters of the High National Election Commission in Tripoli where he was briefed on the preparations to hold the elections.

He reiterated his pledge that the government will spare no effort to ensure that the commission fulfills its duties.

The GNA has already dedicated 50 million dinars to hold the polls. Some 2.5 million Libyans are registered to vote.



US to Eventually Reduce Military Bases in Syria to One, Says US Envoy

A US patrol in Qamishli’s countryside in Hasakah on April 20, 2022. (AFP)
A US patrol in Qamishli’s countryside in Hasakah on April 20, 2022. (AFP)
TT
20

US to Eventually Reduce Military Bases in Syria to One, Says US Envoy

A US patrol in Qamishli’s countryside in Hasakah on April 20, 2022. (AFP)
A US patrol in Qamishli’s countryside in Hasakah on April 20, 2022. (AFP)

The United States has begun reducing its military presence in Syria with a view to eventually closing all but one of its bases there, the US envoy for the country has said in an interview.

Six months after the ouster of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, the United States is steadily drawing down its presence as part of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), a military task force launched in 2014 to fight the ISIS.

"The reduction of our OIR engagement on a military basis is happening," the US envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, said in an interview with Türkiye's NTV late on Monday.

"We've gone from eight bases to five to three. We'll eventually go to one."

But he admitted Syria still faced major security challenges under interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose coalition toppled Assad in December.

Assad's ouster brought an end to Syria's bloody 14-year civil war, but the new authorities have struggled to contain recent bouts of sectarian violence.

Barrack, who is also the US ambassador to Turkey, called for the "integration" of the country's ethnic and religious groups.

"It's very tribal still. It's very difficult to bring it together," he said.

But "I think that will happen," he added.

The Pentagon announced in April that the United States would halve its troops in Syria to less than 1,000 in the coming months, saying the ISIS presence had been reduced to "remnants".