North Korea-Flagged Ship Finishes Loading Oil at Libya Rebel Port

The protesters are led by a former anti-Gaddafi commander, Ibrahim Jathran, who seized with thousands of his men three eastern ports in the OPEC member country.

While the navy opened fire on a Malta-flagged tanker trying to approach Es Sider in January, analysts say a full military confrontation with Jathran would be unlikely.

Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has been weakened by political infighting with parliament and reluctant to use the military to clear the seized ports, although talks to end the blockage have gone nowhere.

Libya has been trying to rebuild its army since Gaddafi's overthrow, but analysts say it is not yet a match for battle-hardened militias that fought in the eight-month uprising that toppled him.

While Jathran's campaign seeking more rights for Libya's underdeveloped east has won him sympathy, many people dismiss him as a tribal warlord with no political vision. Libya's top Islamic clerics urged militias who had helped topple Gaddafi to assist the government in trying to stop the tanker.

Tripoli has held indirect talks with Jathran, but fears his demand for a greater share of oil revenue for eastern Libya might lead to secession.

(Reporting by Ulf Laessing, Feras Bosalum and Ayman al-Warfalli; Editing by Dale Hudson)

 


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