Displaying items by tag: War

Libya: British consultants on behalf of the Libyan Cement Company have met with the Benghazi Mayor Abdelrahman Al-Abaar in order to help restart two cement plants in Benghazi and Hawari. Work is due to commence on removing land mines from the sites as well as an assessment of damage caused to the units from fighting that took place in 2016, according to the Libya Herald newspaper. The Libyan Cement Company announced that it was going to reopen the plants in May 2017.

Libya: The Libyan Cement Company (LCC) plans to rebuild and reopen two cement plants in Benghazi and Hawari. Ahmed Ben Halim, the chairman of parent company Joint Libyan Cement Company (JLCC), said that the priority was getting the plants near Benghazi operational again, according to the Arab Times newspaper. The plants closed in mid-2014 and remained under militant control until mid-2016.

Unfortunately, the plants were damaged in fighting in 2016. Following a survey LCC says that extensive rebuilding will be required and this may take up at least one year. Repair work will be covered by the company’s Political Violence Insurance policy with Lloyds of London.

LCC is 90% owned by the JLCC, a joint venture between Asamar Libya and the Economic and Social Development Fund. Asamer Libya was purchased in 2015 from Asamer by Libya Holdings Group, a company run by Ben Halim. LCC also operates a third cement plant at Derna that has remained operational throughout the conflict.

Iraq: Islamic State militants have set the Badoosh cement plant in western Mosul on fire. Major Ali Mohsen, an officer of the Counter-Terrorism Service, said that the plant had been looted and then set on fire, according to the Iraq News newspaper. He added that security forces had killed 15 militants and wounded three others in local fighting. The clashes are part of the Islamic State group’s action against attempts by Iraqi government forces to retake the region.

Syria: Most of a group of 300 cement workers kidnapped from the Al-Badiyeh Cement Company have been released. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said that all the workers had been released with the exception of 30 guards at the plant. The Islamic State-affiliated Aamaq news agency added that the majority of the workers were released after questioning about their religious and political backgrounds. It said that four workers who belonged to the Druse community were killed and 20 other pro-government gunmen were still being held.

Syria: Over 200 workers and contractors from the Al-Badiyeh Cement Company have been kidnapped by a group affiliated to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Ministry of Industry said in a statement to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that the Ministry has been in contact with the company’s administration to inquire about the abductees and to lobby for their release. So far no contact has been made.

SANA also reported that a local reconciliation official in Jeiroud, where the cement plant is located, saw around 125 of the company’s abducted workers being transported on board ISIS vehicles that headed towards Tal Dakweh on the outskirts of eastern Ghouta, a region where ISIS groups are active.