Libya says navy seizes oil tanker from rebels

State oil firm says North Korean-flagged vessel that tried to ship oil from rebel-held port is under government control.

Libya had threatened to bomb the North Korean-flagged tanker if it tried to ship oil from a rebel-held port [Reuters]

Libyan authorities say the navy has seized control of a tanker as it tried to ship oil out of a port under the control of rebels who plan to sell it independently.

The state oil firm NOC said the tanker was being escorted back to a government-controlled port in western Libya on Monday evening.

A spokesman for the rebels earlier denied that the government had taken control of the tanker.

Rebels have seized three ports and partly control a fourth in the country, and the North Korean-flagged tanker had loaded crude worth $30m at rebel-held al-Sidra port despite a government threat to bomb the ship.

Parliament earlier on Monday ordered the formation of a military force made up of regular soldiers and allied armed groups from across Libya to free the ports, which previously handled a total of more than 700,000 barrels of oil per day.

The operation will start within one week, parliament head Nuri Ali Abu Sahmain said in a decree published by spokesman Omar Hmeidan.

“The force will be set up to liberate the ports and end the blockage,” Hmeidan told Reuters news agency.

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The rebels demand political autonomy for eastern Libya and a share of oil revenues like under King Idris, who preceded Muammar Gaddafi, who was toppled and killed in 2011.

Source: News Agencies

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