Qatar Expresses Deep Concern Over the Seizure of Libya's Oil Crescent Region by Armed Militias

Doha - Information Office - 02 July 

The State of Qatar has expressed deep concern over the developments in the Oil Crescent region in Libya and the armed takeover of the ports of Sidra and Ras Lanuf during the past two weeks.

In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the seizure of the Libyan oil resources owned by all the Libyan people without distinction between the factions in order to make them under the control of a specific political faction will only contribute to deepening the gap and blocking the possibility of achieving the national reconciliation sought by the Libyan people, and impeding the efforts of the international community in this regard.

The statement referred to the successive UN Security Council resolutions, most recently Resolution No. (2362) of 2017, which provides for the condemnation of the illegal attempts to export oil, and through parallel institutions to institutions under the control of the Government of National Accord, which clearly and unequivocally means that the seizure of the management of oil facilities in the Oil Crescent region from the National Oil Corporation and placing it under the control of armed militias is an act of absurdity based on the law of force not the force the law, and is a clear and flagrant violation of the international legitimacy and community.

The statement reiterated Qatar's condemnation of this irresponsible move, which undermines confidence in the intentions of those who pushed the events to this dangerous drift, and in their seriousness to reach a real political solution that puts an end to the Libyan crisis and restores unity of the country.

At the end of the statement, the State of Qatar stressed the necessity and importance of preserving the infrastructure of Libya as an inherent right of the Libyan people with all its affiliations, as well as the rights of future generations which have the right to inherit a coherent infrastructure to build a strong economy that promote the pace of development in all regions of Libya.