Libyan authorities battle big blaze at major oil refinery
Monday's dron strike on the Zawiya refinery was the third such incident in two days.
Libyan authorities are currently engaged in a significant effort to control a large fire that erupted at a key oil refinery. The blaze was ignited following an assault on a petrol tank in Libya.
Emergency responders in Libya have been working to suppress a massive fire at a major oil facility, which was targeted by unidentified assailants.
The Zawiya refinery, situated to the west of the capital city Tripoli, sustained a drone strike on Monday evening. This marks the third such occurrence within a two-day period.
According to the National Oil Corporation (NOC), a tank holding approximately 4.5 million liters of fuel was directly hit, leading to a substantial fire that caused the tank's collapse. The NOC stated that it is contemplating halting operations if these attacks persist.
Libya's Ambulance and Emergency Service reported on Tuesday that there were no "serious injuries" from the fire, with the majority of patients receiving treatment for smoke inhalation.
The Zawiya refinery stands as Libya's largest operational facility, boasting a daily output of 120,000 barrels.
The NOC denounced similar attacks that occurred in Zawiya in recent days, including two drone strikes on a naphtha reservoir and a water desalination plant.
The corporation urged authorities to investigate the perpetrators behind this violence.
These attacks underscore the ongoing instability in Libya, a nation that has been divided since the outbreak of a civil war following the overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Colonel Gaddafi assumed power in 1969 and governed as an autocrat for four decades until his removal and death in 2011 during a rebellion supported by Western military intervention.
Since his downfall, competing power centers have emerged: one in the east, supported by military commander Khalifa Haftar, and another in the west, based in Tripoli and led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah. Both factions have been vying for political and military supremacy.