Libya: Fighting closes largest oil export terminal

TRIPOLI, Libya - The minister of oil in Libya's Tripoli-based government says the country's largest oil shipping terminal has been shut down due to clashes between rival militias.

Mashallah al-Zawi said foreign workers in the Sidra terminal have been evacuated to the eastern town of Ajdabiya. He also said the National Oil Corporation has declared a force majeure in Sidra and another port to the east, Ras Lanuf, because of the clashes. Both are controlled by eastern militias loyal to Libya's rival elected government, based in the eastern city of Tobruk.

The Tripoli-based government - backed by militias from the western city of Misrata and Islamist factions - ordered its forces to "liberate" the Sidra terminal as part of a wider offensive they called "Sunrise."