UN Mission in Libya 'Alarmed' by Violence Escalation Amid Pandemic - Statement
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2020) The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in a statement on Wednesday expressed its alarm about the recent spike in violence in the country amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
"UNSMIL is alarmed by the continuing escalation of violence in Libya, particularly by the intensification of fighting in the past few days, resulting in civilian casualties and risking new waves of displacement," the statement said.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric earlier warned that the country, which has so far confirmed 35 COVID-19 cases, is at risk of the further spread of the disease due to the conflict.
The mission currently studies reports of attacks on civilians, desecration of corpses, a breakout in the Surman Prison and release of 401 inmates without vetting, as well as looting and torching of properties in coastal towns in Libya's west, recently seized by the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) forces.
If verified, these actions could constitute grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
UNSMIL added that it condemns indiscriminate bombardments of Tripoli's civilian neighborhoods carried out by the Libyan National Army (LNA).
Any act of revenge would only further escalate the conflict and endanger the "social fabric" in the North African country, the mission noted. It also reiterated UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call on the warring parties to immediately cease hostilities and unite against the COVID-19 "enemy."
Since the onset of Libya's political disarray in 2011, GNA has established itself as the power pole in the country's west with the center in Tripoli, while the LNA took control over the east with the center in Tobruk, where the House of Representatives has also settled.
On Monday, the GNA launched a rapid offensive against the LNA forces west of the country's capital of Tripoli. Earlier on Tuesday, Sputnik has learned from Hassan Alsideeg, the GNA Foreign Ministry's deputy for policy planning, that the GNA forces have captured the areas along the coastal line from the city of Misrata to the city of Zuwara close to the Tunisian border east of Tripoli.