WASHINGTON: The United States has issued a new round of sanctions targeting oil smugglers in Libya aimed at blocking exploitation of natural resources that is driving instability, the US Treasury Department said on Monday.
In a statement, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it was sanctioning six people, 24 companies and seven vessels in a move that prohibits Americans from engaging with those targeted and freezes any related property under US jurisdictions.
The sanctions target people from Libya, Malta and Egypt, according to the statement. Issued under the authority of a 2016 executive order by then US President Barack Obama, companies based in Italy, Libya and Malta are also targets, the statement said.
The United Nations Security Council has condemned illicit exploitation of oil from Libya, which has been mired in conflict since an uprising in 2011 that overthrew Muammar Qaddafi, who led the country for more than 40 years.
“Oil smuggling undermines Libya’s sovereignty, fuels the black market and contributes to further instability in the region while robbing the population of resources that are rightly theirs,” OFAC’s statement said.
Libya’s oil production has steadied but is still well below the 1.6 million barrels per day it was pumping before the insurgency seven years ago and is suffering from theft, abduction and other security threats.
Production from at least one Libyan oil field has also been disrupted by a dispute over security guards’ pay.
New US sanctions aim to block Libyan oil smuggling
New US sanctions aim to block Libyan oil smuggling
Tunisian police clash with youths in Kairouan after man’s death
- Tunisia President Kais Saied shut down parliament and began ruling by decree in 2021 in what he called a move to root out rampant corruption and mismanagement, but which the opposition called a coup
TUNIS: Clashes erupted for a second night on Saturday between police and youths in the central Tunisian city of Kairouan after a man died following a police chase, according to his family, fueling authorities’ fears that protests could spread across the country. As Tunisia prepares to mark the January anniversary of the 2011 revolution, which sparked the Arab Spring uprising, tensions have risen amid protests, and a powerful UGTT union call for a nationwide strike next month. Thousands have been protesting for weeks in the southern city of Gabes, demanding the closure of a chemical plant on environmental grounds.
Witnesses said demonstrators in Kairouan threw stones, petrol bombs and flares, and blocked streets by burning tires, prompting police to disperse crowds with tear gas.
The family said the man, riding a motorcycle without a license, was chased by police, beaten, and taken to a hospital. He later fled and died on Friday from a head injury.
The government was not immediately available to comment. Relatives of the deceased said they will not remain silent and will spark major protests if those responsible are not held accountable.
In a bid to defuse tensions, Kairouan’s governor visited the family on Saturday evening and pledged to open an investigation to determine the circumstances of the death and establish accountability, witnesses said.
Tunisia President Kais Saied shut down parliament and began ruling by decree in 2021 in what he called a move to root out rampant corruption and mismanagement, but which the opposition called a coup.
Rights groups accuse Saied of using the judiciary and police to stifle criticism, something that Saied denies.
