In early January 2024, to everyone's surprise, Libya's largest oil field, al-Sharara, was closed by demonstrators. Protesters were protesting against their economic and social conditions, in southern Libya abandoned by Tripoli.
But other reasons seem to have motivated this closure of more than two weeks, as revealed by the Spanish press. The closure of the Libyan oil field was allegedly organized by Saddam Haftar. He would have wanted to take revenge on the Spanish authorities, who had blocked his arms trafficking.