Libya reels from assassination, oil strikes and central bank turmoil

Libya reels from assassination, oil strikes and central bank turmoil Submitted by Elis Gjevori on Wed, 08/12/2026 - 11:41 The violence has shaken claims of stability and placed further pressure on Libya’s divided authorities Black smoke rises during a fire at the Zawiya refinery, Libya’s second-largest oil refinery, after a storage tank was attacked by unknown perpetrators in Al-Zawiyah on 11 August 2026 (AFP/Mahmud Turkia) Off Libya was plunged into fresh turmoil this week after a car bomb killed eastern military intelligence chief Fawzi al-Mansouri in Benghazi, drone attacks struck the country’s largest operational oil refinery and the central bank governor resigned from his post. Mansouri, the military intelligence chief for forces controlling eastern Libya, was leaving a mosque on Monday night when an explosive device attached to his vehicle detonated, the Libyan National Army (LNA) said on Tuesday. Khaled Haftar , the son of the LNA renegade commander Khalifa Haftar who controls eastern Libya, said authorities had opened an investigation, adding that "indicators point to a despicable terrorist tactic".