Drone strike sparks massive blaze at Libya’s Zawiya refinery

On Tuesday, firefighters in western Libya worked tirelessly to combat a massive fire at the Zawiya oil refinery, which was ignited by a drone strike the previous day. The attack targeted a gasoline tank at the facility located 47 kilometers west of the capital, Tripoli. According to the state-run National Oil Corporation, the blaze burned throughout the night and early Tuesday morning before being brought under control.

No casualties were reported as a result of the fire, according to health authorities. The drone strike was not the only incident of violence in the region; a car bomb killed a senior military officer in Benghazi, the eastern city. Maj. Gen. Fawzy al-Mansouri, the director of the military intelligence of Khalifa Hifter's self-styled Libyan National Army, was killed in the attack.

The drone strike and the car bomb are the latest in a series of attacks on oil infrastructure in Zawiya. The city is home to the country's largest oil refinery, an export terminal, and a power plant. The drone strikes have been ongoing, with previous targets including a fuel tank and a desalination plant linked to the oil facilities.

Despite the security challenges facing the country, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to visit Libya soon. He is scheduled to travel to both Tripoli and Benghazi during his visit. The attacks on oil facilities underscore the precarious security situation in Libya, a largely lawless North African nation that has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west.