TRIPOLI, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) declared Thursday a state of force majeure at Es Sider and Ras Lanuf oil ports, hours after an extremist armed group attacked the two sites.
NOC confirmed that an armed militia attacked both terminals, led by Ibrahim Jathran, a wanted ex-chief of oil installation guards, resulting in their closure. NOC evacuated all employees as a precautionary measure.
"We will work with local and governmental partners to restore order and full production capacity as soon as possible," said NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla, adding that those "who attempt to capture Libyan and NOC's oil installations, block production, or attempt to make NOC a bargaining chip, must be brought to justice."
Five Libyan army soldiers were killed when an extremist group, called Benghazi Defense Brigades, allied with Ibrahim Jathran, launched an attack earlier on Thursday and clashed with the army forces there.
NOC said the attack caused losses of 240,000 barrels of oil.
The oil crescent region is located some 500 km east of the capital Tripoli, containing the country's largest oil ports.
The army's information department said earlier that "Benghazi Defense Brigades tried to infiltrate into the oil crescent region and ignite an oil reservoir in Veba oil field of al-Harouge oil company, before our forces defeated and expelled them."
In a televised statement, Jathran confirmed that the attack is a "battle to lift the injustice of the people of the oil crescent, not for a personal, tribal, regional, or partisan purpose."
In September 2016, the army took control of the oil crescent region and expelled Jathran's forces, who closed major oil ports, leading the country lose billions of U.S. dollars.
The UN-backed Prime Minister, Fayez Serraj, condemned the terrorist attack, calling it an "irresponsible escalation that pushes the country into a civil war that the Libyans strive to avoid."
The UN Mission in Libya also condemned the attack, warning that "this dangerous escalation puts Libya's economy in jeopardy and risks igniting a widespread confrontation."
