CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th May, 2020) The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) has appealed to the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court (ICC) with the call to hold field marshal Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), responsible for the recent attacks conducted on the coastal area of Tripoli, GNA's Foreign Minister Mohamed Taher Siala said.
Last week, rocket attacks were carried out on the coastal district of Tripoli, where the residences of Italian and Turkish ambassadors to Libya are based. The Italian Foreign Ministry said that two people had died in the attack, which it blamed on the LNA. However, the LNA denied any responsibility for these actions, accusing rival terrorist groups of staging these attacks. Meanwhile, Ankara, in turn, said that it would view the LNA as a "legitimate target" if Turkish diplomatic missions come under attacks.
"We call on the [UN] Security Council to condemn Haftar's blatant attack on the capital of Tripoli and hold those perpetrators accountable," Siala said in a letter sent on Tuesday to the United Nations and the ICC.
According to the letter, Siala also asked the ICC to take necessary and urgent measures to investigate the attacks on the several diplomatic missions in the capital.
A new wave of escalation in Libya came when on April 27, Haftar said he was withdrawing from the 2015 Skhirat agreement, which had led to the formation of the GNA. The LNA commander added that his army was taking control of the country, including the capital of Tripoli, where the GNA is based. The statement was opposed by the GNA.
Libya is divided between two centers of power � an elected parliament in the country's east, supported by the LNA, and the UN-backed GNA in the west, headed by Fayez Sarraj.
