Forces led by renegade Libyan General Khalifa Haftar are claiming to have recaptured two key Mediterranean oil installations in eastern Libya, after both sites were seized by an Islamist-led force early this month.
Libya broke into rival political and armed factions in 2011 after the government of longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi was toppled and Gadhafi was killed. Two rival governments and a host of local militia are currently battling for control of the oil-rich country.
A Haftar spokesman said Tuesday the ports of Ras Lanuf and al-Sidra were recaptured from a jihadist militia called the Benghazi Defense Brigades (BDB), after a daylong assault by air, ground and naval forces.
Haftar and his so-called Libyan National Army back an administration operating from the far eastern Libyan city of Tobruk that refuses to cede power to the United Nations-backed unity Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.