TRIPOLI – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the continued violation of the UN-brokered cease-fire agreement in the Libyan capital Tripoli.
“The secretary-general is alarmed by the increasing number of violations of the cease-fire agreement signed by armed groups in Tripoli … under the auspices of his Special Representative Ghassan Salame,” said a statement by the Secretary-General’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Guterres called on the warring parties to “respect the cease-fire and refrain from any actions that would increase the suffering of the civilian population,” the statement added.
He also warned that violators of international humanitarian law and international human rights law “must be held responsible.”
Earlier in the day, the Libyan Ministry of Health announced that fierce fighting in southern Tripoli on Friday killed 10 people and injured 59 others, including civilians. The death toll of the violence has increased to 106 since the beginning of the fighting on Aug. 26.
Violent clashes continued in southern Tripoli between forces allied with the UN-backed government and the “7th Brigade” militia from the city of Tarhuna, some 80 km southeast of Tripoli.
The Libyan government later on Friday called on the international community and the UN to “take more firm and effective practical actions to stop the war and protect civilians.”
Earlier in September, the UN Support Mission in Libya brokered a cease-fire agreement between the warring parties. However, the agreement was violated and the violence has continued since then.
The UN Mission on Thursday warned against attacks on residential areas. The mission also reminded the warring parties of the binding cease-fire agreement, stressing that exposing civilians to harm is prohibited by International Humanitarian Law.
Libya has been suffering insecurity and escalating violence since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. (Xinhua)
