Libyan oil tank hit by missile

(Baonghean.vn) - A rocket hit an oil tank in the oil area of ​​Es Sider Port, eastern Libya on December 25. This is considered an act of aggression by armed forces allied with the opposition government to regain control of Libya's largest oil exporting region.

Clashes were also reported from Sirte, a city west of Es Sider, leaving 19 dead, residents there said.

“Black smoke covers an oil tank hit by a rocket on December 25, 2014 at the port of Es Sider, Libya”

The port of Es Sider in the town of Ras Lanuf has been closed since a force allied to the opposition government in Tripoli moved east to capture it.

“One tank was hit but damage was limited,” said an official from the security service allied to the internationally recognised government, which operates in eastern Libya. He said there had been major clashes in the Ben Jawad area, west of Es Sider, where the rival forces are based.

He accused the opponents of firing at the port from ships they were trying to dock at Es Sider. "The air force destroyed those three boats when they tried to capture the port," he said.

Ismail al-Shukri, a spokesman for the rival forces, denied this, saying that opposition fighters had bombed the port. “Our forces are advancing from all directions towards Es Sider port,” he said. “The fighting has reduced Libya’s crude oil production to 352,000 barrels per day – leaving only Brega, Sarir, Messla and offshore platforms still producing,” a spokesman for the state-owned National Oil Corp (NOC) said. Previously, Es Sider and Ras Lanuf alone processed around 300,000 barrels of oil per day.”

Libya has had two governments and parliaments simultaneously since an armed group calling itself Libyan Dawn seized the capital Tripoli in August by expelling the interim government, electing its own president and forcing the Cabinet to recognize it in order to hold lower house elections.

Western powers fear the North African nation could fall apart as rebel groups that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi's government in 2011 use their power to control OPEC oil production.

Truong Huu Quy– According to Reuters