Deepening conflict in Libyan oil heartland threatens output

Islamic militias widen their influence, endangering production

Libyan Islamist militias have extended their control over two key central oil ports they seized on 3 March, as the country's civil war escalates and threatens recent oil-output gains. A counter attack or full-blown war in Libya's oil-producing heartland may be imminent. The militias, led by the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), captured areas surrounding Es-Sider, Libya's largest export terminal, and nearby Ras Lanuf, a refinery and export complex, in a lightening attack on 3 March, advancing against desultory air strikes across 270km of desert. Their attack has tilted the balance in Libya's civil war, which had been with eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar, whose Libyan National Army (LNA) seiz