TRIPOLI, Libya — Gunmen from an al Qaeda inspired militia have taken over radio and television stations in the central Libyan city of Sirte, a security official said.
He said the seizure of the buildings happened on Thursday after militants from Ansar al-Sharia had warned the station to stop broadcasting music.
The group, considered a terrorist organization by the United States, is accused of being involved in a deadly 2012 attack on a U.S. mission and annex in Benghazi. Its branch in the city of Derna has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
On Saturday, a bomb hit a pipeline leading to the country’s largest oil field, al-Sarir, disrupting the flow of oil to ships at a coastal terminal, oil officials said.
The official said residents of Sirte went about their business after the seizure and traffic flowed normally. A resident said that the radio station had begun playing religious songs and lessons.
All spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
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Widespread militia violence has plunged Libya into chaos less than four years after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
The country’s post-Gadhafi transition has collapsed, with two rival governments and parliaments — each backed by different militias — ruling in the country’s eastern and western regions. The elected parliament was never allowed to properly convene due to a takeover of the capital, Tripoli, by Islamic and tribal militias. That parliament has been forced to function in the eastern city of Tobruk, while the pre-election parliament has declared itself legitimate and remains in Tripoli.
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