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Libya's former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan in office before being ousted. Photo: Reuters

Tripoli, Libya: Libya's Congress handed a no-confidence vote to Prime Minister Ali Zeidan on Tuesday in a yet another jolt to the oil-rich nation's crumbling political stability.

Libya's elected General National Congress (GNC) voted to oust Mr Zeidan a day after the government's weak security forces failed to stop a North Korean-flagged oil tanker from departing Libya's eastern shore with an unauthorised US$36 million cargo of crude oil.

Less than three years after the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been riven by increasingly violent political animosities as powerful militias, aligned with rival political factions, have struggled to exert control over key government offices, territory and - significantly - the country's vast oil resources.

Federalist fighters seeking autonomy for eastern Libya have laid siege to some of the country's key oil wells and ports, effectively paralysing exports for the past six months.

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The weekend docking of the North Korean tanker marked the first independent sale of oil by a non-state body, threatening to escalate regional and tribal tensions into a full-fledged war.

Mr Zeidan threatened to use force if the ship tried to leave. But after a three-day stand-off between the eastern rebels and government-allied forces, the rebels said on Tuesday that the tanker had entered international waters.

"We don't care what the GNC does with Zeidan. They can do what they like," said Senussi El-Megrabi, a spokesman for rebel commander Ibrahim al-Jathran. "We have nothing to do with them."

The tanker, The Morning Glory, left Libya's Sidra port at 8am, Mr Megrabi said.

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Libya's prime minister ousted after ship leaves rebel-held port with illegal oil

"Abusing the System (The war on Libya)" Gerardo Gomez, Farhat Art Museum
"WAR" by Bob Marley "Abusing the System (The war on Libya)" Acrylic and spray paint on canvas. 320 x 225 cm. (126" x 89") Gerardo Gmez 2014.

By: Farhat Art Museum

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"Abusing the System (The war on Libya)" Gerardo Gomez, Farhat Art Museum - Video

Saadi Gaddafi Extradited To Libya
Saadi Gaddafi Extradited To Libya videolarn Nick Kaufman, who has represented Saadi Gadhafi, son of Moammar, in the past, speaks about his extradition to Libya. The Libyan government says...

By: NEWS Official

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Saadi Gaddafi Extradited To Libya - Video

TRIPOLI, Libya, April 29 (UPI) -- The Libyan National Oil Company announced it lifted an emergency declaration on oil operations at its Zueitina terminal in the east of the country.

The NOC said Monday it lifted force majeure -- a legal means to release it from its contractual obligations because of circumstances beyond its control -- at Zueitina because of "the improvement of the circumstances" in the country.

The Libyan government brokered a deal April 6 with eastern rebel leaders to re-open export terminals. An eight-month blockade from rebels seeking more autonomy for the region known as Cyrenaica cut Libya's oil export potential dramatically.

Zueitina has the capacity to ship 70,000 barrels of oil per day and was one of the four export terminals set to re-open under the terms of the April 6 deal. The government said last week the opening of the port was delayed because of damage incurred during the shutdown.

Eastern export terminals handle about half of Libya's oil export capacity. Before civil war erupted in 2011, Libya was one of North Africa's largest crude oil exporters, though output has been marginal since last year.

There was no statement from the NOC on the status of Zueitina's infrastructure.

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Libya re-opens key oil terminal

April 29, 2014

Passengers wait for their flights in the departure hall at Tripoli International Airport March 21, 2014. Reuters pic, April 29, 2014.With a bomb on the runway, pets boarding planes and passengers jetting off without visas, Tripoli International Airport typifies the chaos that has gripped Libya since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.

Western powers and Libya's neighbours worry the capital city's airport could be a gateway for illegal immigrants, including militant Islamists, from Africa and conflict zones such as Syria.

Morocco has just introduced visa requirements for Libyans after one group of travellers arrived on forged Libyan passports, and some European and Arab airlines have stopped flying to Tripoli for security reasons.

The European Union is training officials and helping upgrade facilities at the aging airport, a former British military base from World War Two, but a few new luggage scanners won't address the underlying security problem a government that is struggling to impose its authority on a country awash with arms and militias.

Like much of the North African country, the area surrounding the airport is controlled by one of the dozens of brigades of rebels that helped overthrow Gaddafi and have refused to give up their arms.

Political analyst Salah Elbakhoush said the airport was in the middle of a power struggle, with other armed groups, residents and civil aviation staff challenging the control of the militia from Zintan in western Libya.

"People are fed up with them," he said. "The situation west of Tripoli (near the terminal)... is very dangerous. The government is too weak to do anything."

Nightly shootouts have become more frequent in the area, making the airport road one of the most dangerous places in the capital, where security has deteriorated in recent months.

Whoever controls the airport, located about 30 kilometres outside Tripoli, gets access to business at the terminal, which is a main cargo and smuggling hub.

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