January 14th, 2014
03:46 PM ET
By Mick Krever, CNN
A 32-year-old Libyan militia leader, sitting since July on billions of dollars of oil in the eastern part of the country, was defiant in an exclusive interview Tuesday with CNN?s Christiane Amanpour.
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In 2012, he was entrusted by the government to guard Libya's crucial eastern oil ports.
But last July he went rogue, seizing the ports ? blocking oil exports ? and demanding more autonomy and shared revenues for his eastern region, which he calls by its ancient Roman name, Cyrenaica.
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We used to be part of that government until the corruption became so visible, and the government started to sell oil without measuring units, and after we became certain that such a government is not credible and unable to rebuild the state. That?s why we declared independence of our province and we started to seek our fair rights.?
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Jadran is standing opposed not only to the government, but also Islamists, over which much concern has been expressed by the international community.
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We will not allow those groups to take safe haven in Libya and allow Libya to become another Iraq, another Syria or Afghanistan,? he said. ?We are aspiring to a State of institutions and law and order.?
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Jadran claimed that he is ?about to start exporting oil,? and he will use those revenues to pay his soldiers ?
who by his own admission have not been paid for five months...
