Ousted Prime Minister Ali Zidan at the recent International Conference on Libya at Farnesina
(ANSAmed) - VALLETTA - Ali Zeidan, the Libyan prime minister ousted in a no-confidence vote by parliament yesterday, arrived in Malta last night for a stopover lasting a few hours.
He then left for another European country, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in a television interview, and sources told ANSA that he is now in Germany. The Libyan prosecutor's office yesterday had issued a travel ban for Zeidan. Maltese Premier Joseph Muscat said he briefly met with the ex-premier of Libya, Ali Zeidan, with whom he has "a personal friendship". Maltese sources said the ex-premier arrived in a Libyan government airplane in the evening but the it left without Zeidan.
Libya's highest political authority on Wednesday gave rebels blockading oil terminals two weeks to stand down voluntarily or face military action. The ultimatum by the General National Congress (GNC) was made to a separatist group that has been blockading ports and terminals in the eastern region of Cyrenaica and the Gulf of Sirte, preventing the central authorities from exporting oil. The decision was announced by GNC leader Nuri Abu Sahmain, who is also head of the armed forces. On Sunday he had announced the formation of a military force consisting of Libyan army units and militias from different areas but affiliated with the government, tasked with ending the blockade of the country's largest ports and restoring central government control over them. The new formation would later be responsible for protecting oil facilities in future.
The decision was made after the separatist group began exporting oil without government authorization. The operation was the first of its kind by the Barqa (Arabic name for Cyrenaica) Political Office, which had in recent months declared regional autonomy. The new body was formed by a former revolutionary fighter, Ibrahim Jadran, who since late July has been leading the blockade on the country's largest ports and demanding a greater share of export revenues, accusing the government of corruption in oil sales. The oil crisis has been a serious blow to the Libyan economy, bringing output down to 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a 1.6 million bpd in the Gaddafi period. (ANSAmed).
