The United States, joined by the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and several other allies have expressed their concern at the latest outbreak of fighting near Gharyan in Libya, the US Department of State said in a media note on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th April, 2019) The United States, joined by the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and several other allies have expressed their concern at the latest outbreak of fighting near Gharyan in Libya, the US Department of State said in a media note on Thursday."The governments of France, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States are deeply concerned by fighting near Gharyan, Libya and urge all parties to immediately de-escalate tensions," the note said.
The Libyan National Army led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar expects to take control of Tripoli within 48 hours, a source from Haftar's armed forces told Sputnik.
Gharyan is a key coastal town west of Tripoli on the road to neighboring Tunisia.
Haftar has ordered his forces to begin an offensive against Tripoli to "liberate it from terrorists", referring to the Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez al-Sarraj and formed with the support of the United Nations and the European Union. Haftar called on citizens of Tripoli to lay down their arms.
Libya has been embroiled in a severe political crisis since National Transitional Council forces, supported by NATO, murdered the country's former head, Muammar Gaddafi.
The country has been divided between the Libyan National Army-backed parliament, elected in 2014 and based in Tobruk in the east and the GNA, formed on an initiative of the United Nations, that has previously controlled Tripoli.
