A strike by Libyan security forces has halted production at four oilfields and closed two ports amid warnings the country could backslide into civil war.

The move by the National Petroleum Facilities Guards forced Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) to declare force majeure on the production of nearly 300,000 barrels per day from the Shararah, El Feel, Wafa and Hamada fields, threatening the Mediterranean aframax tanker market.