The Libyan National Army on Tuesday carried out fresh air strikes against the Benghazi militias who captured two key Libyan oil ports days earlier, vowing to launch a counter-offensive against them.
It came as Libya’s elected parliament voted to withdraw its support for the United Nations peace deal and UN-backed Government of National Accord, denting hopes for an end to Libya’s civil war.
The central ports of Sidra, Libya’s biggest oil terminal, and Ras Lanuf, on Friday fell into the hands of the Benghazi Defence Brigades, a militia that was pushed out of the city of the same name last year by the army.
The army said its warplanes pounded militia positions around Ras Lanuf for a fifth day running, as well as the town of Nawfiliya, 75 kilometres to the west.
LNA spokesman Ahmed Al Mismari said the latest strikes had hit positions of the Benghazi Defence Brigades at Ras Lanuf.
“It forced them [the Benghazi Defence Brigades] to mobilise ambulances to carry their dead and wounded to the west,” he said, without elaborating on casualty figures.
Meanwhile LNA units have massed to the east at Brega on the western side of the so-called Oil Crescent, home to 80 per cent of Libya’s oil production, in preparation for a counter offensive.
“There is a very large air and ground mobilisation of forces to drive back the terrorist gangs in the Oil Crescent,” said Colonel Ahmed Mismari, spokesman for the army, which is controlled by Libya’s elected parliament, the House of Representatives.
He also urged citizens to stay off the 180-km coastal road between the ports and Sirte amid speculation that militia reinforcements from the coastal city of Misurata will drive along it to bolster Benghazi militia units at the ports.
On Tuesday, Abdullah Ablaihig, spokesman for the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, said the parliament voted to annul its previous acceptance of a presidential council and the UN-backed government currently led by prime minister Fayez Al Serraj in Tripoli. They also called on all Libyan parties to condemn militias that occupied the two key terminals in what it described as “terrorist attacks” saying it was suspending its participation in peace talks until they did so.
Speaking from Misurata on Monday, Benghazi Defence Brigades commander Colonel Mustafa Al Sharksi announced plans to push further east from the ports to capture Benghazi, saying: “Our main goal is to return [to] our city [Benghazi].”
Col Al Sharksi said he supported the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, a rival administration to the House of Representatives. The two ports, along with oil terminals at Brega and Zueitina were captured in September by the army, which is commanded by Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar.
Meanwhile France, Britain and the United States called for calm.
“We recall the urgent need for a unified national military force under civilian command in order to preserve the security and prosperity of all Libyans,” they said in a joint statement.
An official at Libya’s state oil holding company, the National Oil Corporation, on Monday announced a cut in production from 700,000 barrels per day to 650,000 bpd because of the fighting, with tankers due to load at the ports being diverted elsewhere.
The fighting has imperilled ambitious expansion production plans by the company, which said last month it was hoping production would reach 1.25 million bpd by the end of 2017 after concluding a provisional production deal with Russia’s Rosneft oil giant.
Casualty figures from the last five days of fighting remain unclear, with the LNA announcing 18 dead and 12 wounded, and the Benghazi Defence Brigades so far giving no tolls.
* with additional reporting from Associated Press
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
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The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
SQUADS
South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed
Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom
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The studios taking part (so far)
- Punch
- Vogue Fitness
- Sweat
- Bodytree Studio
- The Hot House
- The Room
- Inspire Sports (Ladies Only)
- Cryo
'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
Specs%20
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare