The United Nations mission in Libya on Monday praised the reopening of the Sharara and El Feel oil fields at the weekend after a five-month-long blockade that cost the war-torn country over 5 billion dollars, UNSMIL said in a statement.
The "needless" blockade also cost Libya millions of dollars of indirect losses due to the shutdown of domestic refineries and damage caused by the oil infrastructure remaining idle, the UNSMIL statement said.
UNSMIL called for the crippling blockade to be fully lifted across the country.
"Oil and other natural resources should not in any way, shape or form be instrumentalized as part of the conflict," the statement said.
"Libya’s natural resources belong to all Libyans and their exploitation is vital to maintain the country's economy, particularly given the need to address the COVID-19 pandemic."
As fighting escalates and spreads across more areas, UNSMIL urged all parties to avoid damaging oil infrastructure or impeding the work of staff from Libya's only legitimate oil company - the National Oil Corporation or NOC.
.jpg)
