Libya: Marsa Al-Harigah blockade lifted but conflict continues

The resolution of a blockade at the Marsa al-Harigah terminal in mid-May averted what many expected to be a highly damaging financial and political crisis. However, it leaves unresolved the main grievances that provoked leaders in Cyrenaica to shut the port and deprive Tripoli of revenues earned from the sale of crude produced in the east of the country. The continued political disagreements and the expected delivery by a Russian company of LYD4bn worth of bank notes to the Benghazi-based administration will provide fertile ground for further disputes over both money and oil.