IN the NEWS - Lybian Chaos

And ye shall hear of

wars and rumours of wars:

see that ye be not troubled:

for all these things must come to pass,

 but the end is not yet.

Matthew 24:6

"State Department recommended Tuesday that Americans leave Libya immediately, saying the security situation in Libya "remains unpredictable and unstable" with crime levels high in many parts of the country.
"U.S. citizens currently in Libya should exercise extreme caution and depart immediately," the department said in a statement.
"The problem that Libya is going through right now is a war for power," said Rawad Radwan, a Libyan

blogger who lives in the capital, Tripoli. "Everyone wants to gain power, and they all believe that whoever controls oil will rule the country."
Earlier this month, renegade Libyan general Khalifa Hifter launched a bloody military offensive in the east to crush Islamist extremists. On May 18, the general's allied militias attacked parliament in the capital to try to unsuccessfully force the legislature to disband.
Over the weekend, the embattled parliament approved an Islamist-backed government led by Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq despite boycotts from non-Islamists and Hifter's complaints that the parliament is illegitimate.
Also, over the weekend, thousands of demonstrators gathered in cities across Libya to show support for Hifter, who later claimed the protests gave him a mandate to fight terrorism."  USAToday


"Jadhran has held several state oil facilities hostage for nine months, crippling the country's lifeblood in a push for regional development demands. But when he tried to sell a tanker-load of oil on the black market last month, a rival group of militia fighters from the western coastal city of Misurata tried to stop him.
To do that, the Misuratans loaded gun trucks onto a few tugboats and launched a barrage of anti-tank missiles at the seaborne oil tanker .
It might go without saying that tugboats are not meant for modern warfare, or that anti-tank missiles launched from a tugboat are unlikely to hit a ship 2 1/2 miles away.
The seventh missile struck, setting a small fire.
The Pakistani captain of the tanker, the Morning Glory, could be heard over the tugboat's radio during the attack, pleading with Misurata to hold its fire, until an American voice-identifying himself as a representative on a NATO ship - came in over the radio and told everyone to cool it.
Later the same night, U.S. SEALs boarded the ship, and took control of the oil cargo to return it to Libya's Navy based at Tripoli's port. It was never clear who the oil's illegal buyers were. At least 40 percent of the crude belonged to American oil companies, leading some fighters on both sides to suggest the SEALs intervened for that reason." WashingtonPost

"TRIPOLI: In a chaotic parliamentary session, Libya’s supreme court Monday ruled that the election of premier Ahmad Maiteeq was unconstitutional, ending a monthlong political crisis that saw two rival cabinets jostling for power.

Maiteeq said he would respect the ruling, hailing the decision as a “boost for the conservation of the rule of law” in Libya.

The standoff started in early May, when parliament voted Maiteeq as new premier to replace Abdullah al-Thani, who resigned after an attack on his family. However, Thani refused to recognize the parliamentary vote, which came days after gunmen stormed the building to interrupt an earlier ballot.
Haftar launched “Operation Dignity” last month with troops from his so-called National Army. He has rallied support among the public and members of the security forces have joined his forces.
Near daily attacks in Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 revolt against dictator Moammar Gadhafi, have killed dozens of members of the security forces. No group has claimed the attacks, but they have been blamed on radical Islamist militias in the city.
Some politicians and armed groups in the country had warned they would not endorse Maiteeq’s government, including autonomist rebels who have been blockading eastern oil terminals."TheDailyStarOfLebabanon