The Internet in parts of Libya were shut down by protesters recently. According to a Libyan official, protesters stormed the main headquarters of major telecommunication companies, disrupting Internet service to the country’s west and south, reports the New Zealand Herald.

Atef al-Bahari, a senior official in the telecommunication ministry, said dozens of protesters stormed the companies’ offices in Tripoli and held staff there hostage, disrupting the Internet in Tripoli as well.

According to Al-Bahari, the protesters are reacting to eastern militias shutting down oil terminals since this summer, he added negotiations are ongoing through tribal leaders to end the standoff.

“Libya has been roiled by unrest since the ouster in 2011 of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Heavily armed groups that fought Gadhafi’s army have turned themselves into militias that exploit the weak central government in Tripoli,” reports the newspaper.