LİBYA – U.S. Navy SEALs boarded and took control of an oil tanker late on Sunday that escaped earlierthis month from a Libyan port with armed men at the helm, theU.S. Department of Defense said.Libyan anti-government groups, who are calling for a greatershare of oil wealth and autonomy, had managed to load crude oilonto the 37,000 tonne-tanker, which escaped the Libyan navy,embarrassing the weak central government and promptingparliament to vote the prime minister out of office.No one was hurt in the boarding operation, approved by U.S.President Barack Obama, requested by the Libyan and Cypriotgovernments and conducted in international waters southeast ofCyprus, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said."The Morning Glory is carrying a cargo of oil owned by theLibyan government National Oil Company. The ship and its cargowere illicitly obtained" from the Libyan port of Es Sider, hisstatement said.The Cypriot ministry of foreign affairs said the vessel wasnow heading west in the Mediterranean with a U.S. militaryescort. It was parked 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Cyprus whenthe operation occurred around midnight Cyprus time.The standoff over control of OPEC member Libya's oil is onefacet of wider turmoil that has engulfed the vast North Africancountry since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi nearly three yearsago.The government and nascent army have struggled to controlbrigades of former anti-Gaddafi fighters who have refused todisarm and have used their military muscle to make politicaldemands on the state, often by targeting the vital oil sector.