Libya: New Oil Guard head

A new head was appointed this month to the Oil Facilities Guard. Colonel Ali Al-Ahrash as part of the agreement signed in May between the government of Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thanni and Ibrahim Jedhran, who heads the politburo of the Cyrenaican Transitional Council (CTC).
This is the second time that Al-Ahrash has headed up the Guard. He resigned from the post in July 2013 after clashing with the government of former prime minister Ali Zidan, and most notably with former oil minister Ali Al-Arusi.

The government accused Al-Ahrash of not being in proper control of his forces. He retaliated, complaining that his forces were not being supplied with proper weaponry and equipment and that they were not being paid on time. His reappointment is a bid by Al-Thanni to prove to that he is still the rightful prime minister and, more important, that he is the only one who has the key to resolving the oil crisis.

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