Before, it was Ibrahim Jodran shutting Libya's income resources, now these gangs are trying to do the same and add to Libyans' misery.

The Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanallah, has revealed that Libya has lost over 18 million dollars so far due to the blocking of the gas pipeline in Baer Terfas district and using diesel fuel as a substitute in the power station.

“This loss of money comes as one single thing added to the other losses the country is suffering from due to this abominable crime.” Sanallah said.

He added that the shutdown of the pipeline led to a hike in smuggling of fuel, rise in using cooking gas and kerosene for keeping warm by people.

“The biggest side effect of the closure of the pipeline is the persons and children who lost their lives due to the harsh cold weather accompanied by the lack of heating apparatuses as the power continued to be cut for days and long hours.

Earlier last week, the NOC denounced the closure of the gas pipeline that feeds Al-Zawiya power plant by a group of individuals, saying the shutdown of the gas pipeline led to the loss of big proportions of its electricity generation as it had been obliged to use diesel fuel to operate, leaving the power plant to deal with the consequences of that procedure.

The reason behind the shutdown of the gas pipeline goes back to the fact that an armed group from Al-Zawiya had seized a truck with a container full of tobacco for a man from Wirshiffana, so another armed group from Wirshiffana kidnapped several people from Al-Zawiya city in retaliation. This led to some relatives of the abductees, many are armed, closing the gas pipeline that feeds the main power plant of 1200 MW in Zawiya on January 09, demanding release of their sons.

The abductees, after being released by Wershiffana armed groups, appeared in a video on a Libyan TV channel threatening to close the pipeline if they do not receive financial compensations for the time they spent in abduction, which actually puts the general electricity network of the region at stake again with one more possible blackout.

In a bid to shed light on the closure of the gas pipeline, the Libyan American Public Affairs Council (LAPAC) has filed a complaint to the International Criminal Court's Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, telling her that it is now more imperative than ever to take legal action against what they called "Jodran-type" criminal activity - the closure of the pipeline that feeds Al-Zawiya power plant without which the western region will be plunged into total blackouts repetitively.

"The Libyan government and the judicial system remain paralyzed. Only the ICC has the power and means to stop these criminal activities and save the lives of Libyans and end their pain and suffering." LAPAC added in its complaint to the ICC.