Haftar: There will be war if oil revenues are not split fairly in Libya

Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strong man of eastern Libya, yesterday confirmed that his forces will be given a deadline, no later than the end of August, for the fair distribution of the oil revenues in Libya.

Osama Hammad, the head of the parallel government in eastern Libya, who complained about the lack of a “fair” distribution of oil revenues, threatened to prevent the export of fuel, calling for seizing the revenues managed by the rival authorities in the west.

Oil revenues, the main source of income in Libya, are managed by the National Oil Corporation (NOC) and the Central Bank of Libya and are based in the capital, Tripoli, where the UN-recognised government led by Abdel Hamid Al-Dbeibeh is locate.

Haftar said in a televised speech broadcast by the Libya Al-Hadath channel, that the Libyan people are demanding the formation of a high committee “to put in place financial arrangements with a view to fair management of public funds”, announcing “a deadline at the end of August for this committee to complete its mission.”

If the committee is unable to complete the task, he added, “armed forces will be ready for orders when the time comes.”

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