The UN Security Council has called for ceasefire after a deadly airstrike in the capital Tripoli, on a detention centre for refugees and migrants.
The statement was approved by all 15 members of the body since the leader of Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar, launched an offensive in early April to fight the capital from forces loyal to the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).
“The members of the Security Council stressed the need for all parties to urgently de-escalate the situation and to commit to a ceasefire,” the 15-member body said in a joint statement on Friday.
“Lasting peace and stability in Libya will come only through a political solution.”
The most powerful body in UN called parties to return to political talks and urged other countries not to interfere in the Libyan conflict which has been a chaos since the NATO-backed overthrow of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The UN body met on Wednesday but was unable to issue a statement because of the disapproval of US. In April, US president Trump praised Haftar for his military assault on Tripoli. This was seen as a reversal in the US policy for Libya as earlier this month Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded an immediate stop to Haftar’s offensive. However according to the diplomats the statement discussed and issued on Friday was unchanged from Wednesday.
The council has struggled on how to deal with the violent situation in Libya. After the offensive started by Haftar, US and Russia both told the council they would not support a resolution that would call for cease fire in Libya. According diplomats, UAE and Egypt have supplied Haftars forces for years while Turkey recently sent arms to Tripoli to stop Haftars assault. Almost 6,000 are held in human detention centers by the government which according to UN have inhumane conditions.
The renewed conflict is a threat to disturb oil supplies and spur migration, therefore UN plans to conduct elections to resolve rivalry and create security.
