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The Islamic Research and Studies Council (IRSC) of the Fatwa House in Libya has said that the action taken by certain armed groups in Tripoli to "deter" outlaws is in itself an act of outlawry because of the panic it caused for the people, the damage it did to personal and public properties and the burning of some TV channels that oppose their ideologies.

The IRSC added in a statement Sunday that the armed groups that clashed in Tripoli had violated the laws as they attacked public institutions such as Hadba Prison, where several Gaddafi henchmen, including his son Al-Saadi, are being held, and killed a number of its guards.

"Not to mention the attack they conducted on the Guest Palaces in Rixos and the building of the General Intelligence Department." The IRC indicated.

The council also denounced the protests that were staged with slogans against the February revolution igniting revenge from certain cities, which were named by those men who organized the protest, and hailing the crimes committed in Benghazi with all the inhumane atrocities done by the coup plotters in there.

"We support the right of peaceful demonstrating and protesting for all Libyans as long as they commit to the moral and sharia ethics." The IRSC remarked.

The IRSC of the Fatwa House also slammed the so-called Dignity Operation crime gangs as inhuman after they had killed the women and entire families who tried to break out of the siege laid on Ganfouda.

"Digging up tombs and parading the bodies of the dead as well as burning the corpses are acts of brutality and can only be described as bestial behavior of nonhuman creatures." The IRSC explained, saying that the perpetrators and the silence voices among their tribes must await the wrath of Allah for such atrocities.

The IRSC remarked that the damage done by the latest incidents and violations in the country would not be healed by apologies or ornamented statements full of wordplay to silence the damaged people and the families of the martyrs by giving them compensations or the like.

"Libya has the right to put a decisive end to the growing threat of the coup plotters who are messing with the safety and security of the country." The Islamic Research and Studies Council concluded.

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Islamic Research and Studies Council: Time to protect Libya against inhumane atrocities committed by Dignity Operation - The Libya Observer

TUNIS Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) has been coordinating with military forces from eastern Libya and has "no reason to believe" it will not regain control of the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf oil ports, NOC's chairman said.

The loss and recapture of the ports this month by the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) had raised doubts over its willingness to let the Tripoli-based NOC manage the ports.

Revenue from the sites is controlled by a central bank and U.N.-backed government in the capital which pro-LNA factions oppose.

Eastern officials accuse rivals in Tripoli and the western city of Misrata of supporting a March 3 attack on the ports by a faction known as the Benghazi Defense Brigades (BDB).

An oil guard commander appointed by the U.N.-backed government was deployed to secure them.

After they were retaken, the head of a Benghazi NOC office appointed by Libya's eastern government said he was pulling out of an NOC unification deal signed in July and an LNA spokesman said there would be no immediate decision on a handover.

But in written responses provided to Reuters, Mustafa Sanalla, the Tripoli-based NOC chairman, said his staff had already been working with the LNA.

"We have been coordinating our assessment of the facilities with them," Sanalla said, in his first public comments since the ports were retaken.

"We have no reason to believe control of the ports will not be handed back to NOC."

Es Sider and Ras Lanuf have a combined potential capacity of 600,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Operations there and at two other ports southwest of Benghazi are crucial to the NOC's efforts to revive Libya's output, which has been crippled by years of conflict and political chaos.

The LNA took over the ports in September, ending a two-year blockade at three of them and quickly inviting the NOC to resume exports.

Es Sider and Ras Lanuf were badly damaged in previous rounds of fighting and have been operating well below normal levels. The latest clashes, which included ground battles and more than a week of LNA air strikes, had dented the LNA's claim it could defend the ports and led to fears that facilities would suffer further damage.

But Waha Oil Company resumed pumping to Es Sider on Saturday and Sanalla said the NOC had decided to restart operations at the ports based on technical assessments and a review by military engineers.

"For the most part, the facilities are not damaged. In one or two locations, some work needs to be done by the military engineers. Our workers are returning to their terminals gradually."

Reuters journalists observed little apparent additional damage to the ports during a visit on Thursday.

An engineer at the Waha oil field said on Sunday it was pumping 25,000 bpd to Es Sider as it restarted production, which stood at 75,000 bpd before the clashes.

Sanalla said the NOC was hoping to raise overall production to 800,000 bpd by the end of April from 611,000 bpd currently.

Libya along with Nigeria has been exempted from production cuts recently agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

However, any gains in Libya remain fragile as long as the political turmoil that has fractured the country since its 2011 uprising continues.

Oil accounts for nearly all of Libya's income and pipelines and ports have been repeatedly blockaded by local groups seeking political and financial gain.

Eastern authorities have attempted to sell oil independently, but have been blocked by international sanctions which remain in place.

Oil facilities are protected by the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) but PFG units often operate independently or for a particular political faction.

Sanalla said a neutral PFG should have a role, "but under the authority and real management of NOC".

"Putting the PFG under the NOC would, we think, go a long way to removing Libya's oil assets as an object of military competition," he said.

"Unless oil assets are taken off the table as an object of conflict, unless the oil industry is ring-fenced from our political conflict, then the possibility of more fighting remains."

(Additional reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli in Benghazi; editing by Jason Neely)

BEIJING China should not be singled out in a fight against excess steel capacity that requires stronger global cooperation, Wang Shouwen, a vice commerce minister, said on Saturday.

LONDON/NEW YORK Oil prices were largely steady on Friday, and looked set to finish the week with modest gains after losing almost 10 percent last week on concerns that an OPEC production cut was failing to reduce a global supply overhang.

MUMBAI India's Adani Enterprises said it would finalize an investment decision by June for its Carmichael coal project in Australia, which has been delayed due to protests from environmental groups.

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Exclusive: Libya's NOC says expects to regain Es Sider, Ras Lanuf oil ports - Reuters

africanews

UN calls for a unified Libyan army before lifting arms embargo africanews U.N. special envoy to Libya ,Martin Kobler, told a news conference during an Arab league meeting on Libya's crisis, in Cairo on Saturday, that the international body calls for a unified army with a clear chain of command represented by the UN-backed ...

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UN calls for a unified Libyan army before lifting arms embargo - africanews

Summary

Reuters is reporting that Russia, according to anonymous Egyptian and US sources, deployed military advisers and drones to an Egyptian air base near the border with Libya. There was no official confirmation of the reports. Russia, for its part, has denied it, but doubts remain. For the past few months, Russias official stance has been to establish ever closer relations to General Khalifa Haftar, who has played a leading role in fighting ISIS and other Islamists in Libyas eastern region of Cyrenaica. The general has even secured French and British support. However, Haftars rising influence represents a challenge to the UN-recognized government led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli.

Whether there are actually Russian troops at the Libyan border or not, Russia has long had interests in Libya. Their bilateral relationship has been centered on security and military sales; it began decades ago, involving the supply of Soviet-era weaponry to the North African country, from MiG jets to tanks. In the 1970s and 80s, Libyan officers received training from Russian instructors. That Moscow would seek to revive this relationship now should come as a surprise to no one.

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Libya: The Next Piece in Russia's Geopolitical Chess Match - Geopoliticalmonitor.com

Misrata municipality condemned the Friday chants by the protesters in Tripoli saying they advocate for hatred, division and military rule. It also denounced the statement of the Presidential Council and blamed it for the current status quo in Libya because it did not apply the security preparations. It also condemned the attack on its office on Friday, saying it entirely rejects the military rule.

Study has been resumed on Sunday in Tripoli after the security situation in the capital has returned to normal, Ramadan Al-Ghadwi, the head of media office at the Education Ministry confirmed. Schools were shut down on last Wednesday and Thursday due to clashes.

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Two fighters from Brigade 604 Infantry were injured by a land mine explosion when they were combing through the research farm area in Sirte. The two fighters were wounded in the hand by the IS-planted land mine, sources said, adding that they were sent to Misrata Central Hospital.

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Fourth year of the Spring Carnival in Sokna town began on Friday under the slogan, "Unite to Express". About 20 civil societies from different Libyan districts partook in the carnival that is aimed at celebrating the coming of spring. The carnival will have some pottery works, jewels, gems, traditional food, popular medicines, hand-made objects and many more. The event will last for three days and will further include shows for horse-riding shows, popular sports activities and motorbike racing.

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218 TV channel said its media crewmembers were arrested on Friday and then released on Saturday, saying that it appreciates the efforts that helped its staffers be freed in the last 24 hours, extending thanks to "the faithful from Tripoli residents." The channel did not mention who arrested its staffers.

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Waha oilfield that feeds Essidra oil terminal has resumed production after 10 days of closure due to the clashes that took place at the oil crescent region. Waha Oil Company had to close the oilfield, which produces 75 thousand bpd due to the suspension of work at Essidra oil terminal.

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News Roundup - Sun, Mar 19, 2017 - The Libya Observer