Pro-Kadafi forces attack oil refinery in eastern Libya

Gunmen loyal to Moammar Kadafi pulled off a daring attack Monday at a major oil refinery inside what was supposedly rebel-held territory in eastern Libya, killing 17 guards.

The strike at the facility near Ras Lanuf, on the Mediterranean coast, underscored warnings from Libya’s transitional rulers that the nation remains insecure as long as Kadafi is free and publicly urging his followers to carry out a guerrilla war.

“We can’t be complacent: We must always be vigilant,” said Jalal Gallal, a spokesman for the rebel-led transitional administration, whose forces recently drove Libya’s longtime ruler from the capital, Tripoli.

Meanwhile, there were conflicting reports from Libya’s southern neighbor, Niger, about whether authorities there had detained Kadafi’s son, Saadi, who crossed the desert border into the poor, landlocked nation over the weekend. Some accounts indicated that he had been detained, while Reuters quoted a government official as saying he was “under surveillance.”

The fate of Kadafi’s inner circle seems to increasingly involve Niger, a Sahara crossroads and former French colony whose recent history includes a hunger crisis, rebellions by wandering Tuareg tribal fighters and infiltration by Al Qaeda-linked militants.

Reports in recent days of convoys of Kadafi cronies headed to Niger have put that nation’s government in an awkward spotlight. Kadafi’s regime lavished oil-generated largesse on its southern neighbor, but Libya’s new leaders and some Western officials have urged Niger not to serve as a Kadafi sanctuary.

Saadi Kadafi, a former professional soccer player known for his partying and run-ins with the law in Europe, also headed a militia accused of directing fire on Libyan civilians during antigovernment protests.

Libya’s new leaders have asked for the return of all former government officials and Kadafi family members, even those who, like Saadi, are not facing international war crimes charges.

There has been considerable speculation that Moammar Kadafi, whose current whereabouts are publicly unknown, may seek safe haven in Niger.

Kadafi’s wife, daughter and two of his sons found sanctuary in Algeria, but officials there have indicated that the Libyan leader would not be welcome. At least two other Kadafi sons are also at large.

Monday’s refinery attack made it clear that pro-Kadafi loyalists still have the weaponry and manpower to disrupt efforts to restore order to Libya.

Reuters cited witness accounts that more than a dozen vehicles carrying pro-Kadafi gunmen drove up to the refinery and opened fire at a checkpoint outside. A day before, Libyan transitional government officials proudly announced that oil production had resumed in a nation that depends on crude for most of its income. The civil war that began in February with mass protests against Kadafi’s rule had paralyzed the industry.

Elsewhere, forces loyal to the transitional government were reported to have reentered parts of Bani Walid, a Kadafi bastion about 90 miles southeast of Tripoli. But pro-Kadafi loyalists were said to still be putting up fierce resistance and continued to control the town center.

China, once a steadfast backer of the Kadafi regime, late Monday became the last permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to recognize the new government in Tripoli.

“China respects the choice of the Libyan people,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. “China will work with the [transitional council] to realize a steady and smooth transition and development of bilateral ties.”

patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com

Times staff writers Paul Richter in Washington and Barbara Demick in Beijing contributed to this report.