Libyan authorities have detained three suspects in connection with an alleged storming of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) headquarters in Tripoli, the country’s attorney general announced on Thursday. The move comes amid deepening divisions between Libya’s rival governments and growing threats to the stability of its vital oil sector.
The NOC, based in the capital under the internationally recognised Government of National Unity (GNU), denied reports of a forceful intrusion, instead describing the incident as a “limited personal dispute” that took place in the building’s reception area. However, after reviewing video evidence, inspecting the scene, and interviewing witnesses, the attorney general confirmed that charges had been filed against the suspects.
“The public prosecution reviewed the evidence of the storming of the Corporation’s headquarters, inspected the scene, reviewed the video footage recorded at the time of the incident and heard the testimonies of those present,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement. The three suspects were handed over by the defence ministry, which has also been instructed to arrest others allegedly involved.
The incident came just a day after Libya’s rival administration in the east — based in Benghazi and backed by powerful military commander Khalifa Haftar — threatened to declare force majeure at key oil facilities, citing assaults on the NOC and calls to relocate its headquarters to cities under its control, such as Ras Lanuf and Brega.
Although the eastern-based administration is not internationally recognised, it controls most of the country’s oil fields. Its threat to shut down production could significantly impact Libya’s economy, which relies heavily on oil exports.
Despite the tensions, the NOC reported a stable national oil output of 1,389,055 barrels per day as of Wednesday.
Libya’s oil industry has faced persistent disruptions in the years since the country fractured in 2014 into competing governments in the east and west, following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
As geopolitical divisions deepen, fears are mounting that renewed instability could once again derail Libya’s already fragile oil sector — a crucial source of revenue and political leverage in the conflict-ridden country.
Melissa Enoch
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