The fresh round of escalation between protesters in southern Libya with the central authorities follows a fuel tanker explosion Aug. 1 in the Bint Baya area of Sabha city, the capital of Fezzan province. “Angry youths may open fire on illegal trucks transporting fuel from southern Libya. In mid-July, the Libyan government in Tripoli replaced Mustafa Sanalla as the chairman of the National Oil Corporation with Farhat bin Qadara. Several Western companies, including Italy’s Eni, heavily invest in the oil sector in Libya. If the National Oil Corporation operates independently and professionally, Libya and Algeria can meet 50% of Europe's gas needs.

Source: Libya Today August 16, 2022 04:58 UTC