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Libyan oil fields seized by militants

The Bahi and Mabruk oil fields were overtaken.

By Ed Adamczyk
An armed rebel group in Libya (CC/ wikimedia.org/ Al Jazeera English/ Flickr)
An armed rebel group in Libya (CC/ wikimedia.org/ Al Jazeera English/ Flickr)

TOBRUK, Libya, March 4 (UPI) -- Two oil fields in central Libya were seized by militant groups, their identities unknown, pushing worldwide oil prices higher.

"Extremists took control of the Bahi and Mabruk fields and are now heading to seize the Dahra field following the retreat of the forces guarding these sites," said Col. Ali al-Hassi, a spokesman for Libya's oil industry security service. The Mabruk facility, one of the country's largest oil fields, was the site of a gun battle on Feb. 11 in which 11 people died; it has been closed for several weeks because of violence and the current global oversupply of oil.

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Libya has seen the growth of dozens of unaffiliated militias since the overthrow of Moammar Ghadafi in 2011 left the country without an effective government. The allegiances of the groups which captured the Bahi and Mabruk are not known, but the Feb. 11 attack at Mabruk, witnesses said, was undertaken by a militia which claimed to have joined the Islamic State.

The overtaking of the oil fields will likely complicate Libya's internal politics and further burden the country's oil-intensive economy. A loose affiliation of militia groups, known as Libya Dawn, and the internationally recognized national government conducted airstrikes against each other's positions Tuesday.

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In part because of the turmoil in Libya, crude oil futures for April delivery rose 1.9 percent, to $50.52 a barrel, Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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