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News > Libya

UN Security Council Discusses Truce in Libya

  • Members of the Libyan National Army get ready to reinforce troops advancing on Tripoli in Benghazi, Libya, April 13, 2019.

    Members of the Libyan National Army get ready to reinforce troops advancing on Tripoli in Benghazi, Libya, April 13, 2019. | Photo: Reuters

Published 16 April 2019
Opinion

So far 174 people have died, 756 were wounded, and 7,300 children have been displaced due to the ongoing civil war in the African country.

The United Nations Security Council Tuesday discussed demanding a ceasefire in Libya in the midst of an offensive on Tripoli launched by Khalifa Haftar, the Libyan National Army Field Marshall engaged in the current civil war.

RELATED:
Nearly 150 Killed in Battle for Libya's Tripoli: WHO

The United Kingdom presented a draft resolution calling on all parties to commit to a cessation of acts of war throughout Libya, to participate in a U.N.-promoted political dialogue, and to facilitate humanitarian access to the population. At this time, however, the council does not have a scheduled date to vote on the text.

The U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres requested an end to hostilities and his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said that he would welcome a "forceful" and "united" pronouncement. For her part, the U.K. ambassador Karen Pierce asserted that there can be no military solution to the crisis.

Nevertheless, Security Council members have, so far, maintained divergent positions on the Libyan conflict, which has also caused division within the European Union (EU). While France is partial to Field Marshall Haftar, Italy is supporting the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli.

Bombing and other acts of war have already displaced "nearly 20,000 people" in the Tripoli area, Dujarric said at his daily press conference, pointing out that some 2,500 people were forced to leave their homes in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Fayez Al-Sarraj, the U.N.-backed chairman, told the Italian newspaper Repubblica that thousands of African and Libyan immigrants could flee the war and head to European shores.

"Europe must prepare to suffer the consequences," Al-Serraj said and also warned of a possible "crisis in the energy sector."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 174 people have died and 756 were wounded since April 4, when fighting raged around Tripoli. Moreover, as of April 15, the civil war has displaced around 7,300 children, according to UNICEF's statement to the Italian news agency ANSA.

The battle for the Libyan capital began when Haftar, a strongman from the eastern part of the country, ordered his troops to take the city. If this goal is achieved, he would control virtually the entire country, with the exception of the Misrata District in northwestern Libya.​​​​​​

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