Oil refinery in western Libya reopens a day after protesters shut it down

TRIPOLI, Libya – Libya's official news agency says an oil refinery in the country's west has reopened, a day after disgruntled former rebels halted production and occupied the facility.

LANA says the refinery in the city of al-Zawiya, some 30 miles from Tripoli, is back to normal operation. It provides the country with 23 percent of its fuel needs.

Former rebels wounded while fighting longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi's forces during Libya's eight-month civil war had closed gate to the facility and cut off its main access road with sand bags.

The refinery's shutdown added to tensions in the country after militias seized vital oil export terminals months ago, knocking production down to few hundred thousand barrels a day from a previous 1.4 billion barrels a day .