THE top United Nations official in Libya Ghassan Salamé has condemned recent airstrikes targeting civilian installations that left at least three people dead and several others injured.
Salamé, head of the UN Support Mission in the country, UNSMIL, called for greater civilian protection following the incidents, which occurred in three locations in the west.
“We have said it loud and clear that indiscriminate attacks against civilians not only constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law, but also further escalate the conflict and incite future acts of revenge, which threaten the social unity in Libya,” he warned in a statement issued on Saturday, adding that “this is utterly unacceptable.”
Libya has been facing ongoing instability since the fall of President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
But, France and Egypt yesterday called for the “greatest restraint” by Libyan and international authorities to avoid escalating the conflict in Libya, a statement from President Emmanuel Macron’s office said.
Macron held talks late Sunday with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi when both agreed that warring Libyan powers need to negotiate a political solution under UN auspices.
The statement comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed readiness this month to send troops to Libya if requested by the country’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).
The GNA is backed by the UN, but the addition of Turkish troops could further inflame tensions in a country torn by the devastating campaign of strongman Khalifa Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army.
More than 140,000 Libyans have fled their homes since April when Haftar’s forces launched an assault on Tripoli.
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