July 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Nations has called on rival Libyan factions, either parallel administrations vying for control of the country or tribal groups embroiled in inter-communal disputes, to stop using oil for blackmail after the closure of several fields in the last few hours. .
Production at the Sharara oil field in eastern Libya came to a complete halt late on Thursday due to a wave of protests demanding the release of a former minister and prominent tribal representative amid renewed tension. between the communities of the country, sometimes linked to the frictions that separate the two parallel administrations that compete for its control.
The protesters, members of the Al Zawia tribe, demand the release of Faraj Bu Matari, former Finance Minister, who has been detained by security services at the Mitiga airport, according to the Libya Observer portal.
Bu Matari would be contemplating the possibility of presenting his candidacy for the governorship of the Central Bank of Libya and for this reason, according to this community, he has been “kidnapped” by the security forces of the Libyan government authorities recognized by the international community, based in Tripoli.
This situation occurs in the midst of a major episode of tension between the country’s prime minister, Abdulhamid Dbeibé, and the head of the Libyan High Council of State, Khalid al-Mishri, after five members of the legislative chamber led by the latter, also based in Tripoli, were detained without explanation at the airport.
In the midst of this chaos, the United Nations Support Mission (UNSMIL) has asked the parties not to use crude oil or other natural resources as a “pressure tool to resolve internal disputes.”
“These kinds of incidents represent an unnecessary cost to the main source of income of the Libyan people. These stoppages must end immediately,” he said in a statement also collected by the Libya Observer.
