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Libya's prime minister has threatened to bomb a North Korean-flagged tanker if it tries
to export oil from a rebel-controlled port. Ali Zeidan said that orders had been issued
to arrest the tanker's crew. Earlier separatist militants said they had
started loading oil on to the tanker at Sidra port, east of Tripoli.
The rebels have seized three major ports since August, to demand more autonomy, hampering
the government's ability to revive oil exports. 'First shipment'
The Morning Glory docked at Sidra port earlier on Saturday, after a failed attempt to dock
on Tuesday. A local TV station showed footage of the rebels
holding a ceremony to celebrate. "We started exporting oil. This is our first
shipment," a rebel spokesman said. Libyan officials said the rebel move was an
"act of piracy". Analysts have said it is unlikely the ship
is owned or controlled by Pyongyang. Lawrence Dermody, a researcher in illicit
trafficking for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, told the BBC: "It's
much more likely that it's a flag of convenience," adding that "it's really not a common flag
- even in the Middle East." Libya's state-owned National Oil Corp (NOC)
had warned tankers against approaching the port, and two others in Libya's volatile east
that are also controlled by armed groups. It is not the first attempt to ship oil from
the rebel-controlled port. On Monday the Libyan navy ship Ibn Auf fired
warning shots at a Maltese-flagged oil tanker to prevent it from docking and loading oil.
The owners of the ship complained it was fired on in international waters.