DHAKA: The leader of an autonomy movement in eastern Libya said on Sunday he will not order his militia troops to end the blockade of several oil-exporting ports.

‘We will not reopen the ports,’ Ibrahim Jathran told reporters, adding talks with the Tripoli government to restart oil exports from the eastern terminals had failed.

His group has seized the Ras Lanuf, Es-Sider and Zueitina ports for months to demand a greater share of the country’s oil wealth and investigate claims of oil corruption.

BDST: 1836 HRS, DEC 15, 2013
Edited by: Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor