In Libya, the ruling militia has sent its forces to the eastern region of the country where rebels demanding regional autonomy began exporting oil this week in defiance of the central government.The move comes after Islamists ousted the Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. The parliament, General National Congress has named Defence Minister Abdullah al-Thani as the caretaker premier for two weeks.Ali Zeidan has fled to a European country and warned that his ouster was planned by Islamists to grab power. Our West Asia correspondent reports that the latest standoff is due to the move by Eastern rebels to load and export oil onto a North Korean-flagged tanker, Morning Glory.The deal was not sanctioned by the state-run National Oil Corporation. It provoked the Islamist parliament which sacked Ali Zeidan and replaced him by the Defence Minister Abdullah al-Thani. The parliament chief ordered military action against the Eastern rebels who have blocked the main eastern oil export terminals since last July and now exported the oil.The blockade of ports has led to a decline in Libyan oil exports from 1.5 million barrels per day to just 250,000 barrels and a severe strain on Libyan economy. Analysts say that the developments in Libya do not augur well for the country
News On AIR | March 13, 2014 9:44 AM
Libya forces, eastern rebel standoff hits oil exports