Gen. Haftar’s forces seize 2 key oil ports

This file photo taken on January 8, 2016 shows smoke billowing from a petroleum storage tank after a fire was extinguished following fighting at Al-Sidra oil terminal, near Ras Lanuf in the so-called "oil crescent" along Libya's northern coast.(AFP)

BENGHAZI: Forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar on Sunday seized at least two key oil ports from a rival force loyal to the UN-backed government, risking a new conflict over the OPEC nation’s resources.
Ahmed Al-Masmari, a spokesman for Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), said LNA fighters seized control of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf and Brega, but still faced resistance at the port of Zueitina and around the nearby town of Ajdabiya.
The attacks on Libya’s major oil ports by Haftar, who opposes the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), pushes the North African state toward a broader battle over its oil resources and disrupts attempts to restart production.
Armed conflict, political disputes and militant attacks have reduced Libya’s oil production to about 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 1.6 million bpd it was producing before an uprising and fall of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.