(@FahadShabbir)MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2023) The closure of Libya's largest oil fields is posing a threat to domestic oil production in long-term, the Ministry of Oil and Gas of the Libyan Government of National Unity said on Saturday. On Thursday, production at El Feel, Sharara and 108 oilfields was shut down by the Al-Zawi tribe protesting against the abduction of a former finance minister, Faraj Bumatari. "Their (closure) is dangerous for the Libyan oil market, since the loss of confidence in the continuity of Libyan oil supplies to the world market will lead to the fact that oil from Libya will not be sold, or demand for it will decrease," the ministry said on social media. The ministry additionally stressed the risks of the irretrievable loss of Libyan oil importers and warned of the possible return of force majeure to the oil fields. Bumatari is a prominent figure in the Al-Zawi tribe, members of which comprise the majority of workers at Libya's southeastern oil fields.

Oil-rich After Muammar Qaddafi was overthrown and killed in an uprising supported by NATO in 2011, Libya descended into chaos that lasted for more than ten years. In 2008, the prince—the king's brother—and the Libyan government signed a multimillion-euro agreement to reforest desert areas of the country's interior. The prince allegedly applied "unacceptable pressure" to get the Libyan Ministry of Agriculture to pay him nearly 70 million euros ($78.52 million), according to the Libyan Investment Authority. The LIA's legal team, Jus Cogens, announced on Thursday that it had filed a criminal complaint against Prince Laurent for extortion, fraud, and improper influence. Since 2011, Libya has been subject to international sanctions, and the nation's 14 billion euro sovereign wealth is currently frozen at the bank Euroclear in Brussels.

CAIRO, July 15 (Reuters) - The closure of three Libyan oilfields could lead to the declaration of force majeure, the oil ministry said late on Friday, a day after the fields were shut in protest against the abduction of a former finance minister. A ministry statement called on all parties not to let their disputes affect energy production and exports. Production at the El Feel, Sharara and 108 oilfields was shut on Thursday in a protest by the Al-Zawi tribe against the abduction of Faraj Bumatari, according to a tribal leader. Zawi tribe leader Al-Senussi al-Ahlaiq told Reuters that the closure of El Feel was aimed at pressuring the authorities in Tripoli to release Bumatari, who was kidnapped after arriving at Mitiga airport on Tuesday. Bumatari is a candidate for central bank governor, which "makes him vulnerable to danger and kidnapping", the tribe said in a statement.

Libyan protesters escalated their anger, and closed 3 oil fields in the south and east of the country, until noon today (Friday), denouncing the kidnapping of Faraj Boumtari, Minister of Finance of the former “national reconciliation” government, amid a threat to cut off water to the city of Tripoli. In the meantime, the General Electricity Company was afraid of entering into a darkening process, and appealed to all parties for urgent intervention in order to avoid entering into a darkening process. The National Oil Corporation in Libya remained silent about the process of closing the three fields, and the executive authority in Tripoli did not comment on the fact that protesters from the Al-Zawiya tribe stopped pumping oil, in protest against the kidnapping of Boumtari, who belongs to it. Today in Tripoli I met with the French Ambassador to Libya, Mr. Mustafa Maharaj. We reviewed the current situation in the country and the next steps in the political process.

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Since the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011, Libya has been mired in political divisions and conflicts. The United Nations Support Mission (UNSMIL) in Libya revealed on July 13 that security agencies had carried out abductions, arbitrary arrests, and enforced disappearances of public figures in the country. UNSMIL calls on all political, security, and social leaders to refrain from any form of escalation, including using incendiary rhetoric. In a related matter, UNSMIL is also disturbed by reports of the shutdown of some oil fields in response to the abduction of Mr. Boumtari. So far, no confirmation has been issued by the National Oil Corporation (government) regarding the closure of oil fields or not.

The move comes after Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strait last week, opening fire on one of them. The US does not believe Russian aircraft plan to drop bombs on US troops or shoot down manned aircraft. Last week, Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, said the Russian and Syrian militaries have been doing joint training. The official said the Russian An-30 aircraft was collecting intelligence on the base. The US did not have fighter aircraft in the area and took no direct action against the Russian flight.

The three-time African champions, who missed out on the last World Cup to the Black stars of Ghana in the playoffs, have been drawn into Group C alongside South Africa, Benin Republic, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Lesotho. THE Super Eagles of Nigeria have been drawn into Group C ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers following the draw that took place at Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire on Thursday, July 13, 2023. The three-time African champions, who missed out on the last World Cup to the Black stars of Ghana in the playoffs, have been drawn into Group C alongside South Africa, Benin Republic, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Lesotho. The World Cup qualifiers' full draw:Group A: Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. Group C: Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Lesotho.

It said Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah - an ally of the security agency's chief - is now responsible for Bumatari's safety. The alleged abduction took place on Tuesday, according to Libyan media, and the minister's whereabouts remain unknown. “Our main demand is the release of the minister,” the tribal leader said, who spoke on the phone from the eastern city of Benghazi on Friday. The three other sites purported to have stopped production are the El-Feel field, the Ibn Tufal field, and the 108 field, he said. Last year, local tribal leaders briefly shut down the Sharara field amid a stand-off between the two rival governments.

Sharara, Libya’s largest oilfield, began shutting down late on Thursday. By Friday, the oilfield was fully halted, Libya’s Oil Minister Mohamed Oun confirmed via text message to Bloomberg. Combined, the Sharara and El Feel oilfields in southwestern Libya pumped around 350,000 bpd of crude oil before the stoppage. Haftar’s threat followed a similar threat issued by the eastern government late last month. The stoppage of oilfields in Libya, an outage in fellow African OPEC member Nigeria, and the announced cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia have all shifted the focus of the market to supply disruptions this week.

The United Nations has raised concern over the ongoing arbitrary arrests and sudden disappearance of politicians in Libya. Image by flickr.comThe United Nations mission in Libya expressed its concern Thursday 13 July 2023 over “continued abductions, arbitrary arrests, and disappearances of citizens and public figures by various security actors” in the war-ravaged country. On Wednesday, Boumtari “was reportedly detained at Mitiga Airport and taken to an undisclosed location”, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement. Oil-rich Libya plunged into over a decade of chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. ALSO READ: Libya strongman Haftar threatens military action over oil revenuesBut reports on social media on Thursday said that two oilfields in the south, at Al-Sharara and Al-Fil, had already been blockaded by protesters.

The recently announced planned resumption of flights between Libya and Italy will still be conditional on Libya meeting ‘‘some preconditions’’, highly placed sources told Libya Herald. The source told Libya Herald that flights could resume much earlier than September if the Libyan side fulfils these preconditions earlier. Nevertheless, after continuous pressure from the Tripoli Libyan government and Libyans in general, Italy has pre-empted a unified lifting of the EU flight ban. And once EU states resume flights to Libya, it will be difficult for non-EU states to justify continuing to impose a flight ban on Libya. Italy has taken that leap of faith and decided to break the glass ceiling and resume flights.

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Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Alexandria in Egypt served as transit points between Dhaka in Bangladesh and Benghazi in Libya for Bangladeshi nationals, European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said. "There are indications that the routes used to reach Libya from Dhaka are direct connections between Dubai and Benghazi or Alexandria and Benghazi," Johansson replied on behalf of the European Home Affairs Commission. Engerer's question was prompted by a MaltaToday report earlier this year that revealed Frontex intelligence on how Bangladeshi migrants are being smuggled aboard charter flights into Libya where they get onto boats to reach Europe. However, a day later the EU placed Shammout on its sanctions list, calling him a "leading business person operating in Syria". Cham Wings, which does not operate to EU countries, remains subject to US sanctions and pressure is building within the EU to follow suit.

Leaders of Egypt, the Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan participate in Sudan Neighboring States’ Summit in Cairo on Thursday - Egyptian PresidencyCAIRO – 14 July 2023: Jordan, Oman and Yemen have welcomed the final communique of Sudan Neighboring States’ Summit in Cairo, which called for a comprehensive solution to the crisis in Sudan. The Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates also welcomed the communique and stressed Yemen’s support to all efforts seeking to restore security and stability in Sudan. The acting government of Sudan, the Transitional Sovereign Council and the RSF have all welcomed the outcomes of the summit. The leaders at the summit agreed to form a ministerial mechanism comprised of foreign ministers of Sudan’s neighboring states to coordinate common efforts to resolve the current conflict. They also agreed to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid provided to Sudan through the territories of neighboring states, in coordination with relevant international agencies and organizations.