Libya faces renewed security and oil threats after Benghazi bombing and drone attacks on Zawiya refinery
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Libya faced renewed security and economic pressure this week after the killing of a senior eastern military intelligence official in Benghazi and a series of drone attacks targeting the country’s largest operating refinery in Zawiya.
Brigadier Fowzi Mansouri, head of military intelligence for eastern Libya’s Libyan National Army (LNA), was killed on Monday when an explosive device detonated in his car outside his home in the Hawari area of Benghazi, two security sources told Reuters.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the blast occurred in the evening. They did not identify any suspects or provide further details about the device used in the attack.
The killing highlights Libya’s continuing security challenges, where rival administrations and armed groups have retained influence despite a 2020 ceasefire that halted major warfare.
Libya has remained divided since 2014 between rival eastern and western factions following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. The LNA, led by military commander Khalifa Haftar, controls much of eastern and southern Libya and is aligned with authorities based in Benghazi, while the internationally recognised Government of National Unity is based in Tripoli and controls much of western Libya.
At the same time, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) warned on Tuesday that it could declare force majeure and completely halt operations at the Zawiya refinery if drone attacks on oil facilities in the area continued.
The NOC said a drone had targeted an oil blending and filling plant operated by the Zawiya Oil Refining Company, falling near a main oil tank and a pipeline network used to produce oils for the domestic market. No casualties or material damage were reported.
The corporation said the latest incident was the third attack targeting oil assets in Zawiya over Sunday and Monday. No group immediately claimed responsibility, and authorities did not say who they believed was behind the strikes.
Zawiya refinery, located about 40 km west of Tripoli, has a processing capacity of 120,000 barrels per day and is connected to the 300,000-bpd Sharara oilfield. It is currently Libya’s largest operating refinery, with the Ras Lanuf refinery out of service.
On Monday, a fire accompanied by heavy smoke broke out in a fuel tank at an oil depot at the refinery after it was struck, according to Brega Petroleum Marketing Company.
Libya’s oil ministry said the tank, which belonged to Brega and contained about 4.5 million litres of gasoline, caught fire and collapsed. The ministry said a series of drone attacks had targeted the Zawiya oil complex and refinery as well as a nearby desalination plant.
In a separate statement issued on Monday, the NOC said the fuel tank had been “directly targeted” and declared a state of extreme emergency in the area, urging authorities to intervene immediately and investigate the incident.
Unverified footage circulated online appeared to show large flames and thick black smoke rising over the refinery complex.
Despite the attacks, two engineers working at the refinery said operations had continued without suspension.
The latest strike followed an earlier incident on Saturday, when a drone crashed into an untreated naphtha tank at the Zawiya refinery, causing a leak that staff were able to contain.
The killing in Benghazi and the repeated attacks on Zawiya have renewed concerns about Libya’s fragile security environment and the vulnerability of its energy infrastructure, a critical source of revenue for the country’s divided political system.
