A massive fire broke out at an oil refinery in western Libya following a series of drone attacks, according to reports.

While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, foreign media outlets assessed that the incident highlights Libya's unstable political climate, which has remained divided between rival eastern and western administrations amid ongoing civil conflict and political fragmentation since the ouster of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Citing AP, AFP, and Reuters, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya stated on the 11th (local time) that the oil refinery in Zawiya, a Mediterranean coastal city located about 47 kilometers west of the capital Tripoli, was targeted by a drone attack the previous day, triggering a large fire at a gasoline storage tank.

At the time of the attack, the tank held approximately 4.5 million liters of fuel, and the ignited tank eventually collapsed.

The fire raged overnight, and firefighting operations continued into the afternoon of the 11th.

Libyan authorities reported that there were no severe injuries from the blaze, though some individuals received treatment for smoke inhalation.

Operational facilities at the refinery reportedly sustained no significant damage.

Drone strikes against the Zawiya refinery have occurred consecutively since the weekend.

A naphtha storage tank and a desalination facility within the oil complex were also targeted by drones, and reports indicated that yet another drone attacked the Zawiya power plant after the fire broke out.

No casualties or additional material damage have been reported from these strikes.

Zawiya hosts key national energy infrastructure, including export terminals, power plants, and Libya's largest operational oil refinery with a production capacity of 120,000 barrels per day.

The NOC warned that operations at the refinery could be completely suspended if the drone attacks persist.

The drone strikes occurred ahead of a scheduled visit to Libya by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Minister Fidan is scheduled to visit western Tripoli and eastern Benghazi consecutively on the 11th and 12th.

No organization has yet come forward to claim responsibility for the attacks.

Bloomberg reported that the attacks took place amid escalating tensions between Libya's Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) and armed factions controlling Zawiya.

Zawiya and various other areas in the western region are controlled by different militias led by local warlords, who maintain a loose alliance with the GNU led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

However, Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya analyst at the UK-based think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), pointed out that recent frictions have intensified between Mohamed Bahroun, a militia leader in Zawiya, and the GNU.

Meanwhile, the Libyan National Army (LNA) announced that Major General Fawzi al-Mansouri, head of military intelligence for the LNA led by Khalifa Haftar, was killed in a bomb attack the previous evening in the eastern city of Benghazi.

According to AFP, a bomb planted in al-Mansouri's car detonated just as he was leaving a mosque.

The LNA is a military organization allied with the Government of National Stability (GNS), which controls eastern Libya.

No group has claimed responsibility for this incident either.

Libya has failed to establish a stable central government since Gaddafi, who ruled with an iron fist for over four decades, was overthrown in 2011 in the wake of the Arab Spring, leading to persistent confrontations between armed militias and political factions.

Particularly since 2014, Libya has been effectively split between rival authorities in the east and the west.

Currently, the UN-recognized GNU governs from the capital Tripoli in the west, while in the east, centered around Benghazi, the GNS led by Prime Minister Osama Hamad exerts influence with military backing from the LNA.

Although a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2020 temporarily halted large-scale civil war, efforts to resolve the political division through the formation of a unified government and nationwide elections have repeatedly faltered.

As a result, regional militias and warlords maintain substantial influence, leaving Libya in a state of continued instability.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)