File Photo: Zawiya oil installation, Libya. AFP
The news agency cited two engineers at the refinery as saying that emergency measures were implemented after fighting intensified around the area surrounding the refinery, located about 40 kilometres west of the capital Tripoli.
The refinery’s operator, Azzawiya Oil Refining Company, said in a statement cited by Reuters that heavy shelling linked to the clashes struck multiple locations inside the complex, prompting the company to halt operations entirely and evacuate all vessels from the nearby port.
The Zawiya refinery has a production capacity of 120,000 barrels per day and is linked to Libya’s Sharara oilfield, which produces around 300,000 barrels per day, making the facility a key component of the country’s oil infrastructure.
Reuters also reported that Libya’s National Oil Corporation said several heavy-calibre projectiles had landed in various parts of the oil complex, although no significant damage had been recorded so far.
The NOC added that the clashes had spread into residential districts adjacent to the refinery, increasing risks to both the facility and nearby civilian areas.
There was no immediate indication of who was involved in the violence or what had triggered the clashes, Reuters reported. However, Zawiya’s security directorate described the fighting as part of a “security operation against outlaws.”
Videos circulating online appeared to show gunfire and unrest in the city, although the news agency could not independently verify the footage.
Libya has experienced years of instability since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Zawiya has witnessed repeated outbreaks of armed violence in recent years, with clashes at times forcing the closure of the coastal road linking western Libya to the Tunisian border.
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