Tripoli, May 22: The United Nations has urged nations on Tuesday to cut off weapon flow in the war-torn Libyan region, while asserting Libya was heading towards a “long and bloody war”.
According to ANI news reports, UN special representative for Libya Ghassan Salame was quoted by Al-Jazeera news as saying, “The violence on the outskirts of Tripoli is just the state of a long and bloody war on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, imperilling the security of Libya’s immediate neighbours and the wider Mediterranean region.”
He added Libya will descend into a “civil war” which could potentially lead to a Hobbesian all-against-all state of chaos or partition of the nation.
Salame’s appeal has come as the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) posted images of dozens of Turkish-made armoured vehicles.
Since the death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been divided into two sectors. The Libyan National Army (LNA) backed parliament controls the east of Libya, while the United Nations-backed interim GNA (Government of National Accord) holds control over the western region on Libya from Tripoli.
Earlier in April, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the head of Libyan National Army (LNA), launched his offensive to gain control over Tripoli which the GNA controls. Around 400 people have lost their lives with more than thousands been displaced as GNA and LNA’s forces clashed in the capital, Tripoli, according to ANI news reports.
While the United States supports the UN-backed interim GNA led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, the American military officers and diplomats maintain contacts with Russia-backed Haftar LNA.
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