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TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libya's Defense Ministry has ordered its naval and air forces for a second time to use force against a North Korean-flagged tanker loading oil from terminals seized by militias.
The Sunday announcement came a day after Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan said that the military didn't execute earlier orders to stop the tanker docked at al-Sidra port.
Ali al-Shekhli, spokesman for the chief of staff, said Zidan's Saturday orders weren't executed because of weather.
Illegal exports of oil by eastern militiamen are Libya's latest crisis. Zidan's government, parliament and militias compete for authority in the security vacuum that followed the 2011 fall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Zidan said his government has been in touch with North Korea, and that the tanker is believed to be owned by a Gulf businessman.
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