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By Sami Zaptia.
London, 5 September 2020:
Libya’s state National Oil Corporation (NOC) yesterday condemned what it called the ‘‘irresponsible and dangerous military activity’’ in Ras Lanuf port area.
It renewed its call for the immediate and unconditional demilitarisation of all oil facilities after it reported that military personnel fired live rounds and heavy weapons in Ras Lanuf port. ‘‘The presence of forces including mercenaries who lack any kind of discipline are a true threat to NOC workers and facilities all over Libya’’, the NOC statement read.
The NOC said that the Mohamed Bey, a Comoros-registered vessel, was scheduled to enter the commercial section of Ras Lanuf port at 1100 hours on Friday (4 September) to load scrap. However, a group of armed men under the command of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) – including foreign mercenaries – forced the ship into port at 2 am this morning. They intimidated the crew of the Mohamed Bey by firing live rounds and RPG shells in an area where dangerous and highly flammable materials are stored.
“This is the latest in a series of failures of the so-called PFG. They have once again shown their utter lack of professionalism, and the rule of law” NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla declared. “Mercifully, there were no casualties, but this type of unacceptable behaviour could have led to human and environmental disaster. We call on all sides as well as the international community to support immediate demilitarisation of all petroleum facilities in Libya and replacement of the failing PFG. There needs to be an immediate withdrawal of all military groups, especially foreign mercenaries, from its facilities”, Sanalla concluded.
