The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) considers the continued attacks on hospitals and health workers in Libya to be clear violations of international law, especially as the war-torn country is faced with the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 disease, OCHA Libya spokesperson Jennifer Bose Ratka told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2020) The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) considers the continued attacks on hospitals and health workers in Libya to be clear violations of international law, especially as the war-torn country is faced with the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 disease, OCHA Libya spokesperson Jennifer Bose Ratka told Sputnik.
As of May 13, Libya has 64 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and three related deaths, according to the UN data.
According to the spokeswoman, OCHA verified 113 cases of grave violations, including the killing and maiming of children, and attacks on schools and health facilities, over the past year.
"Hospitals and health facilities have been targeted by shelling, further disrupting Libya's fragile health system. Since the beginning of the year, at least 16 attacks have damaged health facilities and ambulances and injured health care workers. These attacks are a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and even more egregious during the COVID-19 pandemic," she said.
Libya has been torn between two rival administrations since 2011, when long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed, with the Libyan National Army (LNA) controlling the east and the Government of National Accord (GNA) sitting in the country's west. The LNA aims to drive away the Turkish-backed GNA from Tripoli.
