Some reports claim foreign troops are already in Libya to fight the Islamic State

Several sources report UK commandos have been deployed to Libya to stop the advance of the Islamic State threatening key oil fields and the Es Sidra oil export terminal.

 British Special Forces have been deployed in Libya to wrest back control of more than a dozen oil fields seized by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants, it has emerged. Approximately 6,000 European and US soldiers, including 1,000 British troops, will be involved in a number of offensives set up to halt the advance of the jihadist terror group.

The report claims Italian forces will lead the operation, supported mainly by British and French .

Special Forces. The RT report cites the Daily Mirror as a source. The Daily Mirror account is rather different, maintaining that 1,000 troops are not already there but Special Air Service (SAS) forces are preparing for their arrival:Crack SAS troops are in Libya preparing for the arrival of around 1,000 British infantrymen to be sent against ISIS there in early 2016. Special Forces including military close observation experts from the Special Reconnaissance Regiment are spearheading a major coalition offensive against the terror network.

Another source gives a similar account and gives the same numbers as RT for the total troops to be deployed. All the reports claim that the Islamic State or Daesh has a number of oil fields that will provide revenue for the terrorist group.

Only a week ago, a Libyan internationally-recognized government spokesperson made it clear that foreign intervention was not needed in Libya because of the security situation. The media seems to be joining in an attempt to manufacture consent for a foreign intervention in Libya,

One of the UK accounts rivals Fox news:The crazed jihadis have reportedly overrun Libyan rebels in the towns of Bin Jawad and As Sidr as part of an offensive that designed to give the terrorist group access to huge new revenue streams from oil.

Contrast that alarmist report with the more sober evaluation of Daily Star: SIS has taken advantage the security vacuum to grab territory and are threatening to advance from Sirte, which it controls. So far the group has failed to take control of any Libyan oil installations but has done so in Syria.

This is not to deny that the IS advance is a threat. IS has advanced east of Sirte. Fighters fought with security forces near the Es Sidra oil export terminal, killed two guards, and set an oil storage tank on fire Two suicide bombers attacked the port area but then the fighters retreated.

None of the reports bother to mention whether the UK or the other countries bothered to get permission from either of the two rival governments in Libya to send troops. Foreign intervention at this juncture can only complicate the delicate political situation and confirm the suspicions of many that the new Government of National Accord is a foreign creation that will be used to legitimize another intervention by international powers in Libya. Interesting that it is all the old colonial powers such as Italy, France, and the UK who are spearheading the intervention. US intervention is also evident with their commandos recently being turfed out of eastern Libya.

Islamic State forces reportedly attack checkpoint at eastern oil terminal at Sidra

Islamic State forces launched an attack at a checkpoint at the Sidra oil terminal recently. Ali Hassi, the spokesperson for the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), reported one guard was killed in the attack and two others wounded. It is not absolutely certain that the Islamic State launched the attack as it has not claimed credit for it, and the commander of the PFG group has been at  odds with Khalifa Haftar the head of the HoR armed forces as of late.

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A separate report claimed two guards were killed. It was not known where the attackers came from. However IS controls Nufaliya, just 50 kilometres west. The main base of IS in Libya now is in the old home town of Gadaffi, Sirte, about 190 kilometres west of Sidra. The head commander of the PFG, Ibrahim Jadhran, is said to have visited Sidra shortly after the attack. The terminal has been closed since last December after it had been attacked by Libya Dawn forces linked with the Tripoli-based General National Congress government. However, there was an agreement that Libya Dawn withdraw apparently because the Tripoli government needed the forces to help control the spread of the Islamic State out of Sirte.

The Reuters report on the attack claims the Islamic State has gained ground in Libya. This is debatable. In fact the Islamic State has lost control of its first and major base in the city of Derna that is now controlled by a Shura council that drove the Islamic State, or Daesh in Arabic, out of the city and into the mountains nearby. However, along with other sources, Reuters likes to emphasize attacks by the Islamic state and this is picked up and used by the international community as an argument for a Libyan unity government to be formed as quickly as possible. This is a constant theme at the UN meeting at which dozens of countries appear as cheerleaders for the Libyan dialogue and Libya Political Agreement.

The Reuters account adds that the militants later tried to attack the same checkpoint with a car bomb and four attackers were killed. The Islamic State also earlier attacked oil fields in the Al-Ghani oilfield in an area controlled by the GNC government and kidnapped a number of workers. Reuters considers the attack on Sidra to be a major escalation of their campaign.The pro-GNC Libya Observer also reports on the attack claiming that three guards were killed and one attacker in a drive-by attack using machine guns.

Meanwhile, it appears there are divisions within the HoR-controlled area of eastern Libya. As mentioned, the Islamic State has lost control of Derna. However, commander of the HoR armed forces, Khalifa Haftar, dislikes the Islamists who have taken over even as much as the Islamic State. The new group is supported by the GNC government. A group of nearby Al-Bayda tribal elders visited Derna after Haftar accused commander Colonel Abu Ghafayar of supporting terrorism. A delegation member said: "We found out that the charges against Col. Abu Ghafayar were all false and falsification of facts intended to ignite sedition among the tribes." The group said they would send a convoy of food, supplies, and ammunition to help out Ghafayar in Derna after Haftar stopped supplies to him.

In another sign of division, security chiefs in east Libya said they will not obey orders of the interim government of Abdullah Al-Thanni or comply with its decisions. The chiefs said the HoR interior ministry was corrupt and had disrupted security services. The chiefs said they would only obey Colonel Moamin Bozohra who is chief of the Al-Bayda security department and was appointed by General Khalifa Haftar. Haftar has already prevented prime minister Al-Thanni from flying out of Libya twice and once tried to arrest him. Haftar has rejected the Libya Political Agreement that is being promoted at the UN. There seems little chance that any agreement could ever pass the HoR parliament when Haftar opposes it. There are many other groups within the HoR area that oppose the agreement including the 19 members of the HoR women's bloc.

Tripoli forces agree to withdraw from eastern oil fields area

The Third Force, a unit of the Tripoli-based General National Council (GNC) government has agreed to a ceasefire with Ibrahim Jadhran who commands forces guarding Es Sidra.

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The Tripoli unit left the town of Bin Jawad just 30 kilometres west of Es Sidra. The unit had occupied the town since mid-December and used it as a base from which to launch attacks on Es Sidra. The Islamic State(IS) has gained recruits from other radical groups some of whom were to a degree allied with the Tripoli government. Now the group has taken control of the city of Sirte and Tripoli has launched a military action against them. The Third Force will now join battle against IS.

While Es Sidra, Libya's largest oil port is in an area controlled by the internationally-recognized House of Representatives(HoR), based in Tobruk in eastern Libya, the forces of Ibrahim Jadhran still control the facility. Jadhran has always demanded more autonomy for eastern Libya and kept the main eastern oil ports from the central government for almost a year, a move that had a devastating effect on Libya's oil exports. Abdullah al-Thinni who is at present prime minister of the Tobruk government made a deal with Jadhran to open up the ports. At the time, Al Thinni was prime minister of the GNC government.

In March of 2014, Jadhran attempted to ship out oil outside of the jurisdiction of the Libyan National Oil Company. A freighter the Morning Glory escaped the then Libyan government but was eventually seized by the US and returned to the central government. Now Jadrhan, who tried to make the shipment, is loyal to the Tobruk government as is CIA-linked General Khalifa Haftar, who was once subject to an arrest warrant for an attempted coup when Al-Thinni was prime minister of the transitional GNC government. Now as prime minister of the Tobruk government Al-Thinni instead of following up on the arrest warrant has made Haftar head of his armed forces.

A spokesperson for the GNC, Jamal Zubia, said that under the agreement for the Third Force to withdraw, Jhadran was to surrender the terminals to the National Oil Corporation and withdraw to the town of Ajdabiya. However, the eastern-based news agency LANA reports that Jadhran's forces remain in Es Sidra. The National Oil Company has tried to remain neutral during the conflict. Its headquarters are still in Tripoli. Another report also claimed that there had been an agreement but did not indicate whether either side had actually moved its troops.

A spokesperson for the Tobruk government denied their troops would leave the area and claimed that they had occupied the town of Bin Jawad after the Third Force had left. If this report is true, the Third Force move is less the result of an agreement and more a retreat. In any event, the move will allow exports to resume from the ports of Es Sidra and Ras Lanauf that had been closed since December because of the fighting.