TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan rebels occupying four eastern oil ports agreed with the government yesterday to gradually end their eight-month petroleum blockade, which has cost the North African state billions in lost revenues.
Zueitina and Hariga ports, held by federalist rebels demanding more autonomy from Tripoli, will open immediately while the larger ports, Ras Lanuf and Es Sider, will be freed in two to four weeks after more talks, the government said.
Ending the oil port standoff will be a major advance for Libya’s fragile government, which has struggled to impose its authority over an unruly nation still in flux nearly three years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
