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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
London - Asharq Al-Awsat

Libya Central Bank Governor: Oil Blockade is ‘Bullet in the Head’

FILE PHOTO: Members of forces loyal to Haftar guard near Libya's El Sharara oilfield in Obari,Libya, February 6, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

A blockade of major Libyan oil ports is damaging the economy and must be quickly resolved, the Tripoli-based central bank governor told Reuters on Friday.

"Now oil represents 93-95 percent of total revenue and covers 70 percent of total spending. This is a bullet in the head, that will hurt Libya and the Libyan people," Sadiq al-Kabir said in an interview in London. "We really hope the crisis is resolved as fast as possible because it hurts everyone."

The head of the Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, has warned of catastrophe if the week-long blockade by the Libyan National Army of Khalifa Haftar, which has cut oil output to almost zero, is not lifted.

Previously, oil production was 1.2 million barrels a day.

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