Libya’s national oil company said Sunday it was forced to shut down an oil field amid a political impasse that threatened to drag the North African nation back into armed conflict.
They also called for embattled Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah to hand over power to the parliament-appointed government of rival Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha. There was no immediate comment from Dbeibah’s government. It was not immediately clear how many barrels of production Libya will lose because of the shutdown. The country’s production was previously at around 1.2 billion barrels a day.
Over the past two months, divisions among Libyan factions have deepened, with militias mobilizing — especially in the western region. That has raised fears that fighting could return after more than 1 1/2 years of relative calm.