TRIPOLI
A fighter jet operated by the military force backed by Libya's Tobruk-based parliament and government on Sunday attacked an oil tanker that was about to anchor in the northern city of Sirte.
Lt Gen. Saqr al-Garrouchi, the commander of the Tobruk parliament and government-backed air force, said the jet attacked the oil tanker after its crew refused to respond to warnings against entering the maritime border of the northern city.
The tanker was attacked with three rockets, which made it sustain heavy damage, according to Hassan al-Fergani, the official responsible for the Libyan electricity plant that owns the port where the ship planned to dock.
He added that some ship crew members were injured in the attack and that they were admitted into hospital for treatment.
Al-Fergani noted that the ship carried 40,000 liters of fuel, noting that the fuel was needed for the operation of the electricity plant.
On May 10, a Tobruk parliament and government-backed fighter plane attacked a Turkish commercial ship near Libya's eastern coast, killing one of its crew members.
Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since a bloody uprising ended the decades-long rule of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011.
Since then, the country's stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each with its own institutions and military capacities.
Vying for legislative authority are the Tobruk-based House of Representatives and an Islamist-led General National Congress that convenes in Tripoli.
The two assemblies support two rival governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.
