Drone strike torches power substation in western Libya, sparks outages
A drone strike ignited a fire at an electrical facility in the western Libyan city of Zawiya on Wednesday, August 12, knocking it out of service in the latest of a wave of attacks on energy and oil infrastructure that threaten to plunge the country into further chaos.
The state-run General Electricity Company said in a statement that a power substation in Zawiya, which links power plants to homes and businesses, was completely burned down.
The city of about 250,000 people, located roughly 47 km west of the capital Tripoli, has been rattled by a series of drone strikes on oil and power infrastructure. Zawiya is home to critical energy assets, including Libya's largest oil refinery, an export terminal and a power plant. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the strikes.
The power company said the attack caused outages across the southern parts of the city. Footage shared by the company showed massive flames and fireballs erupting from the facility.
Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, prime minister of one of Libya's two rival governments, denounced the attacks on energy and power installations as "a serious crime and an escalation that will not go unanswered."
"We will reach those responsible for this attack, and the accountability will be firm. No one will be protected by their position, status, or influence," he said in a statement.
On Monday, August 10, a drone strike hit a fuel-laden tank at Zawiya's refinery, igniting a blaze that firefighters battled for more than 15 hours. The refinery was repeatedly attacked on Tuesday and over the weekend, according to the state-run National Oil Corporation.
The city's power plant was hit by two drones on Tuesday, August 11, one damaging its firefighting system, and the second landing close to the facility's main fuel storage and setting it on fire, the electricity company said.
The attacks come amid rising tensions between the government of western Libya and warlord Mohamed Bahroun, who controls Zawiya. Much of western Libya is run by local militias loosely allied with Dbeibah's Tripoli-based government.
The country has been divided for years between rival administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments Dbeibah governs western Libya, while the administration of Prime Minister Ossama Hammad governs the east.
After Tuesday's attack on the power plant, US company General Electric withdrew its teams from the facility "until security conditions and a suitable and safe work environment are ensured," the electricity company said.
GE performs maintenance and upgrading services for the plant. The company had previously withdrawn its staff over security concerns, prolonging the loss of more than 700 megawatts of the Zawiya power station's production capacity, which is estimated at 1,300 megawatts, the electricity company said.
The violence coincided with a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Tripoli, where he met Dbeibah and Mohammad Younes Menfi, chairman of the Presidential Council. Turkey is the main foreign backer of Dbeibah's government but has in recent years also reached out to the rival authorities in eastern Libya, part of regional efforts to unify the North African country.
Libya, an oil-rich country on the Mediterranean, has been wracked by conflict since a NATO-backed uprising-turned-civil war toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gadhafi in 2011.
(Sourced through PTI)
