TRIPOLI, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- The eastern-based Libyan government announced on Thursday the reopening of all oil fields and ports under its control and the resumption of oil production and exports.
The announcement followed the appointment of a new management for the central bank.
The eastern-based government said in a statement that the previous closure of oil fields and ports was "a precautionary measure against any repercussions resulting from the central bank being taken over by unauthorized individuals."
The shutdown of oil fields and ports announced on August 26 was in response to a decision by the Tripoli-based Presidential Council to replace the central bank governor, which the eastern-based House of Representatives (HoR) has rejected as beyond the council's authority.
Last week, representatives of the Tripoli-based Libyan High State Council and the HoR signed an agreement, sponsored by the UN Support Mission in Libya, to end the central bank crisis and appoint a new management for the bank.
Since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya has been struggling with fragmentation. The country is now divided between two main rival administrations: the eastern-based government, backed by the HoR, and the western-based government in Tripoli, supported by the Presidential Council.
This divide has led to frequent clashes, competing claims of legitimacy, and struggles over control of resources, including oil. ■
