Hafter’s Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), originally and widely known as the Libyan National Army (LNA), has reintroduced the QR / barcode system for car fuelling at petrol stations, sources in southern Libya have confirmed to Libya Herald on a basis of anonymity.
It will be recalled that Libya Herald had reported on 9 October that Sebha Municipality announced the reintroduction of the fuel quota allowance in a week’s time.
Sources in the south have confirmed that each car is allowed to refill for LD 5 once every 4 days in Fezzan. In Kufra, each car is allowed to refill a full tank every week.
In early 2023, Hafter’s LAAF first introduced the ǪR code system at fuel stations in Fezzan, where each legally registered car is allowed to refill once a week.
It was justified as a measure to curb down fuel smuggling to southern neighbouring countries.
The ǪR code system was exclusively applied to Fezzan and Kufra. Although in November 2025 the LAAF ended the fuel ǪR code system in both Fezzan and Kufra, this did not help fuel availability as local fuel stations continue to experience acute shortages.
While the LAAF portrays the measure as an organizational tool for subsidized fuel distribution in Fezzan and Kufra, and by extension a clampdown on fuel smuggling/storage, some citizens in Fezzan perceive the measure as part of the northern superiority complex and prejudice against them.
This, because the fuel distribution QR code system is exclusively applied in the south, while citizens in east and west Libya face no restrictions on refilling cars with fuel.
It is to be seen if this time round the re-introduction of the rationing distribution system has any measurable effect on fuel distribution and shortages.