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08:23, 21-Jun-2018
Libyan parliament urges approving of elections laws
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Speaker of Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives Agila Saleh on Wednesday stressed the need to pass laws regulating the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya.
Saleh made the remarks during a meeting with a number of deputies, Fah'ti Al-Maremi, Agila Saleh's media adviser, said in a statement.
France recently hosted a meeting on Libya in Paris gathering rival Libyan factions with the aim of ending the Libyan political crisis. The participants agreed to hold "credible" presidential and parliamentary elections on December 10.
"The parliament speaker stressed the importance of approving the laws regulating the holding of the elections in the set dates," the statement said, revealing that the army is preparing to "launch an attack on the militants occupying two oil ports in the oil crescent region since Thursday."
Clashes between rival groups in Libya's key oil export ports have caused output to drop by nearly half, the head of the National Oil Company said June 20, 2018. /VCG Photo
Clashes between rival groups in Libya's key oil export ports have caused output to drop by nearly half, the head of the National Oil Company said June 20, 2018. /VCG Photo
The statement added that the meeting stressed the importance of supporting the army "in the war on terrorism gangs that try to control the livelihood of the Libyan people, namely the oil ports and fields."
The extremist Benghazi Defense Brigades have allied with Ibrahim Jathran, a wanted ex-chief of the oil installation guards service, and launched an attack on the oil crescent region on Thursday, clashing with the army forces there.
The National Oil Company evacuated all employees from the area, declared force majeure in the two large oil ports, and announced that the attack caused losses of 240,000 barrels of oil.
The corporation also warned against an environmental disaster due to the damage oil tanks have sustained.
The oil crescent region is located some 500 km east of the capital Tripoli, and houses the country's largest oil ports.
The UN Mission in Libya condemned the attack, warning that "this dangerous escalation puts Libya's economy in jeopardy and risks igniting a widespread confrontation."
(Cover: Smoke and flame rise from an oil storage tank that was set on fire amid fighting between rival factions at Ras Lanuf terminal, Libya in this handout picture, released June 18, 2018. /VCG Photo)
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency