By Jamal Adel and Maha Suliman.
Kufra/Benghazi, 22 November 2014:
Intense clashes south of Benghazi caused blackouts across the city . . .[restrict]last night and into this morning after a power line was cut during the fighting.
“Our networks have failed from Gwarsha to Gameenis and as far south as Ajdabia” a General Electric Company of Libya (GECOL) worker, Awad Igtaish told the Libya Herald.
Power cuts were reported as far away as Tobruk, Marj and Beida which are also part of the eastern electric grid. However it is unclear whether the break in the network in Tikah was a factor in the blackouts further to the east.
Fighting in Tikah, which lies on the Ajdabia road, between pro-government forces and Benghazi Revolutionaries Shoura Council was said to have spread from Benghazi and to nearby Gameenis.
Omar Al-Furjani, a GECOL engineer, said maintenance teams had been sent to repair the power lines. Power returned to the affected areas at around 9 am this morning.
Furjani explained that GECOL was working under intense pressure in the current national climate to keep the electrical grid running. He added that many of the company’s employees had been working at great personal risk to repair broken lines and substations in areas where fighting was ongoing.
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