TRIPOLI — Authorities in western Libya have busted a sabotage cell suspected of being behind recent drone attacks targeting vital facilities in the country, Arab media outlets reported on Sunday, citing sources at the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity.The sources said five people were arrested after investigations uncovered an organized plot to target vital facilities, adding that the cell includes Libyan and foreign nationals. The government said the arrests exposed a “vast plot” and described the attacks as being part of a coordinated campaign.According to the sources, confessions made by members of the cell revealed other attacks, including one targeting a power station south of Tripoli.The developments come amid growing security concerns over the use of drones to attack vital facilities in Libya, while the relevant authorities continue their investigations to determine the circumstances surrounding the attacks and identify the parties linked to them.Last month, a large petrol reservoir in Zawiya caught fire during a drone attack on a major oil facility near Tripoli, Libya’s state-owned oil company NOC said.The reservoir is part of the second-largest oil refinery in Libya, with a refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day.Other drone attacks followed at the Zawiya complex, which is located some 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of Tripoli.On Thursday, another attack on fuel tanks outside of Tripoli was thwarted, the NOC said.Authorities have not identified the detainees or their nationalities.Libya has the most abundant oil reserves in Africa but has been beset by violence and instability since the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.Two governments are currently vying for power: the UN-recognized administration in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah and a rival in the east backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.TRIPOLI — Authorities in western Libya have busted a sabotage cell suspected of being behind recent drone attacks targeting vital facilities in the country, Arab media outlets reported on Sunday, citing sources at the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity.The sources said five people were arrested after investigations uncovered an organized plot to target vital facilities, adding that the cell includes Libyan and foreign nationals. The government said the arrests exposed a “vast plot” and described the attacks as being part of a coordinated campaign.According to the sources, confessions made by members of the cell revealed other attacks, including one targeting a power station south of Tripoli.The developments come amid growing security concerns over the use of drones to attack vital facilities in Libya, while the relevant authorities continue their investigations to determine the circumstances surrounding the attacks and identify the parties linked to them.Last month, a large petrol reservoir in Zawiya caught fire during a drone attack on a major oil facility near Tripoli, Libya’s state-owned oil company NOC said.The reservoir is part of the second-largest oil refinery in Libya, with a refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day.Other drone attacks followed at the Zawiya complex, which is located some 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of Tripoli.On Thursday, another attack on fuel tanks outside of Tripoli was thwarted, the NOC said.Authorities have not identified the detainees or their nationalities.Libya has the most abundant oil reserves in Africa but has been beset by violence and instability since the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.Two governments are currently vying for power: the UN-recognized administration in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah and a rival in the east backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.
