Libya Gets Naval Training from France

Two French warships arrived at Tripoli's military port on Tuesday, carrying crewmen who will train the Libyan navy and help de-mine oil ports, a Libyan defense ministry official said.             

[Ahmed  Bani, Libyan Defense Ministry Spokesman]:
"There is a minesweeper that has arrived from France with French technicians to help the officers and military engineers in Libya in order to clear the waterways and oil ports in Libya,"
          
He said the French servicemen would help train the Libyan navy to maintain the security of the country's shores. 
           
Foreign states are worried about the Libyan interim government's capacity to secure its Mediterranean coast, which could be used as a gateway into Europe for arms traffickers, al-Qaeda insurgents and illegal migrants. 
           
The Libyan government is trying to rebuild its navy and make sure that it ports are safe to export oil, the country's main earner. 
           
Libya holds Africa's largest oil reserves.

Before the uprising, Libya pumped some 1.6 million barrels per day, but civil war brought flows to a standstill, cutting off exports of around 1.3 million to the international market.
            
Oil output has now risen to 1.3 million barrels per day.    
        
But Tripoli's military port is a graveyard for Libyan warships, which were bombed by NATO during the 2011 civil war in which longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a pro-democracy revolution.