Air strikes escalate Libyan conflict as city and port of Misurata attacked

Warplanes attacked Libya’s third-largest city of Misurata yesterday, the first time the industrial port of 300,000 has been struck in a seven-month civil conflict that has already set on fire the country’s largest oil terminal.

The three air strikes, launched by forces loyal to the internationally recognised Tubruq-based government of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, hit an air base, the port and a steel factory.

“The armed forces chief of staff declared Misurata a military zone and it will be besieged from east and west alongside continuous escalating strikes,” said Brig Gen Saqr al-Garoushi, commander of the Thinni government’s airforce, in Libyan media.

Although reports suggested the attacks left no casualties and caused little damage, they could herald a new phase in the Libyan civil war.

The conflict pits the Thinni government against the self-declared Islamist-leaning authorities in the capital, Tripoli, backed by Misurata and its allied Libya Dawn militias. The strikes on the city come after a push to seize control of the country’s main oil export terminal at el-Sidr, which on Thursday became engulfed in flames.

Thinni government forces, under the command of Gen Khalifa Haftar, issued a 72-hour ultimatum that expired on Saturday for Misurata to end the assault or face consequences.

“This is a new, dangerous escalation in violence and one that might not end unless Libya Dawn forces stop their offensive on the oil terminals,” said Mohamed Eljarh of the Atlantic Council’s Middle East centre.

“There have been various warnings that the war would get to Misurata if its forces are not reined in and stopped from attacking others but Misurata’s forces and leaders never took these warnings seriously.”

Oil production hit

Libya, which holds Africa’s largest oil reserves, has seen production drop from as high as 900,000 barrels a day this year to 350,000 per day because of the most recent fighting.

The country has been in turmoil since the 2011 Nato-backed war unseated Muammar Gadafy. Instability deepened in August when Islamist and Misurata militias seized control of the capital after losing June parliamentary elections. They began attacking el-Sidr two weeks ago.

By Saturday, fire at the terminal had spread to five oil storage tanks, and authorities called on Italy and the US for help. Combatants reportedly agreed to a temporary truce yesterday to let firefighters quell the flames.

Misurata suffered during the uprising against the Gadafy regime, with much of the city destroyed and 1,200 people killed. It has since played a big political and military role, dispatching militias throughout the country. But yesterday’s bombings mark the first time the city itself has been touched by war since Gadafy’s overthrow.

The Thinni government’s military commanders have been warning for weeks that they would employ air power, bolstered by United Arab Emirates and Egyptian allies, against Misurata. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014)