The forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar, have slowed an advance on the strategic city of Sirte by rival fighters of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), security sources said Tuesday.
The GNA forces, which have regained control of the whole of northwest Libya since the weekend, came under attack with air strikes and heavy artillery, the sources said, according to Reuters.
The Mediterranean coastal city -- home of former leader Moammar Gaddafi who was ousted and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising -- is also a gateway to the country's major oil fields in the east, still held by pro-Haftar forces.
The Turkish-backed GNA has in past weeks retaken all remaining outposts of western Libya from pro-Haftar loyalists, who had sought to capture Tripoli in a 14-month offensive.
After resumption of oil production over the weekend at two of Libya's largest oil fields, which had been shut down for months, an armed group from the south allied with Haftar stormed the Al-Sharara field on Monday, forcing its closure, the National Oil Corporation said.
The assailants "stormed the Sharara oilfield and pulled their guns on civilian unarmed workers, coercing them to stop production... only three days after production was resumed", the NOC said.
It declared "force majeure" on crude exports from Al-Sharara.
Force majeure is a legal measure firms declare when they are unable to meet contractual obligations due to extenuating circumstances such as armed conflict or natural disasters.
Haftar's forces seized Al-Sharara during an offensive early last year in which they seized much of the country's south followed by the push on the capital.
