The US Navy handed over to Libyan authorities yesterday an oil tanker carrying crude that had been loaded at a port controlled by armed rebels in defiance of Tripoli’s government.

The Morning Glory tanker was due to arrive later yesterday at Libya’s government-controlled Zawiya port after being seized by US commandos and escorted back through international waters by the US Navy, Libyan officials said.

Hours before the handover, at least 16 people were wounded when Libyan rebels occupying three eastern oil ports clashed with troops and attacked an army base, where pro-government forces had been preparing to break the rebel blockade.

Anti-aircraft gunfire and explosions were heard overnight and after dawn yesterday in Ajdabiya, the hometown of rebel leader Ibrahim Jathran, whose fighters seized the ports last summer to demand a greater share in Libya’s oil resources.

The struggle for control of Libya’s petroleum resources is a key challenge facing the weak central government, which has still failed to secure the country three years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.

Brigades of former anti-Gaddafi rebels and militias refuse to disarm and often use armed force or control of oil facilities to make demands on a state whose army is still in training.

Hours before the handover, at least 16 people were wounded

US special forces boarded and seized the tanker last Sunday off Cyprus, days after it left Libya with a cargo of crude from one port, Es Sider, occupied by Jathran’s men who had vowed to export oil themselves to resist Tripoli.

“The handover took place in international waters off the coast of Libya, and the government of Libya and its security forces are now in control of the vessel,” the US Embassy said.