An explosion at a fuel station in the southern Libyan city of Sabha has caused more than a dozen injuries, with several outlets saying the depot in question was storing smuggled fuel.
Dramatic footage of flames rising out of the depot, in the Al-Jadeed neighbourhood of the city, circulated widely on social media late on Tuesday.
The Tripoli-based Ambulance and Emergency Agency said on Facebook in the early hours of Wednesday that the number of injured had risen from 13 to 17, but that there were no critical cases.
The explosion comes weeks after an explosion in the nearby town of Bent Bayya killed 26 people, when a group of residents tried to extract fuel from an overturned tanker.
The incident provoked demonstrations and unrest in Libya’s southern region, which has been disproportionately affected by recent fuel shortages, exacerbated by disruptions to oil production.
