Libya in crisis as armed groups throttle oil supplies
Published: Sept. 4, 2013 at 3:37 PM
TRIPOLI, Libya, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Lawless Libya, these days seen as a major haven for al-Qaida, is facing its greatest crisis since Moammar Gadhafi was toppled and killed in October 2011, as armed groups besiege oil fields and terminals, cutting production to a trickle and threatening economic meltdown.
Output has fallen from 1.4 million barrels per day in January to just 250,000 bpd, the government says, as militias, some of them hired by the government to protect energy installations, close down key infrastructure.
Independent analysts believe the production figure is even smaller, some say as low as 60,000 bpd, because of strikes by energy workers, security guards and militias that began in late July over pay and allegations of corruption.
These have been heightened by power struggles, regional demands for greater control of oil revenue, deep-rooted tribal issues that have intensified dangerously since Gadhafi's demise.
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"The state could find itself unable to provide food, medicine, electricity and salaries by 2014," she warned.
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