The Ministry of Interior in Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) announced the seizure of a large quantity of fuel, intended to be smuggled in Surman.
The Ministry said in a statement that patrols from the Rescue Department in the Surman Security Directorate successfully intercepted a significant amount of fuel, through a security checkpoint at the western gate of the city.
The Ministry highlighted the implementation of legal procedures regarding the incident. It stressed that this action is part of the security plan of the Security Directorate, in collaboration with security agencies to prevent fuel smuggling.
Notably, the Libyan Parliament-designated government has cautioned against the repercussions of lifting fuel subsidies, warning that it would exacerbate citizens’ suffering, and impact various sectors, including education, health, industry, and commerce.
This comes in response to the decision by the GNU to remove fuel subsidies.
Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba retracted the decision, saying that he would not lift fuel subsidies, before resorting to a popular referendum on the decision.
Meanwhile, the Parliament government, headquartered in Benghazi, and led by Osama Hamad stated that the “expired Dbaiba government cannot decide to lift subsidies.”
It described the decision as “hasty, lacking a thorough examination of its consequences and the resulting damages, without creating mechanisms to ensure its success without affecting citizens’ needs, and without jeopardizing the country’s economic and financial stability.”
The statement accused the GNU of “squandering billions without building a single vital facility to make Libya independent from fuel imports. The GNU has not shifted from being consumer importers, to productive exporters. It has not established a single oil refinery, nor has it renewed or developed existing ones. It has neglected essential maintenance, raising concerns about its handling of Libya’s oil and gas.”
Hamad’s government emphasized that decisions regarding “spending and managing the people’s resources, should be made only through the elected legislative authority. The rights of the Libyan people cannot be tampered with, except through laws issued by the sole legislative authority in the country.”
The Parliament-designated government reiterated its commitment to implementing relevant judicial rulings, including appointing judicial guards for Libyan oil funds.