Libyan rebels have claimed control of the oil town of Brega, according to a Bloomberg report.The town’s assets reported to be under control include an ammonia plant and a natural gas facility.
Before the war, Brega was the main outlet for crude pumped from Libya’s largest oil fields. Brega’s vast oil refinery and storage facilities, if intact, could provide fuel and a much-needed income stream for the rebels.
The rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) has been making efforts to restart oil production in the east of the country in a bid to raise cash, but have been thwarted by sabotage and security concerns.
Rebel spokesman Shamisddin Abdulmolah told Al Jazeera that parts of Brega remain off-limits due to the placement of mines laid by retreating Libyan government forces.
A subsequent Reuters report states that the rebels took heavy losses in fighting for Brega, with fighters killed and up to 150 wounded in clashes with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.
Dr Sarahat Atta-Alah, a doctor in a rebel-controlled town told Reuters that “yesterday..was a disaster,” told Reuters at Ajdabiya hospital in eastern Libya on Wednesday.
Rebels have said they have encircled Brega, which they must take if they are to advance towards Tripoli, but fighters said they were still coming under fire from pro-Gaddafi forces.
Gaddafi’s camp has denied rebel reports. Libyan government spokesperson, Moussa Ibrahim, told reporters in Tripoli yesterday: “They [rebels] tried to recapture the town, but were repulsed, losing 500 of their fighters in the battle.”
Meanwhile a senior member of the TNC told Bloomberg that no new contracts with oil companies will be signed, though all current arrangements will be honoured.
“We are not elected,” Mahmoud Shammam told Bloomberg in a telephone interview from Doha. “How can we sign a contract which will affect the life of the Libyan people and we are not an elected government?”
The conflict is entering its fifth month, with Gaddafi stil in control of the capital Tripoli and surrounding western territory.
