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UN Secretary General urges immediate end to hostilities in Libya

Guterres also expressed his concern about the fate of refugees and internally displaced persons in Libya

UN, April 11. /TASS/. The violent confrontation between the forces of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and the the Libyan National Army (LNA) under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Hafta must be stopped immediately, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said.

"I think that when one looks at the situation today it is clear that we have a very dangerous situation and it is clear that we absolutely need to stop it," he said. "On the other hand, I want to say that my Special Representative Ghassan Salame has been doing an absolutely outstanding job in extremely difficult circumstances."

"It is very clear for me that we need to restart a serious political dialogue and a serious political negotiation, but it is obvious that that cannot take place without fully stopping hostilities," the UN head added.

Guterres also expressed his concern about the fate of refugees and internally displaced persons in Libya.

In 2011, during the course of the civil war, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed by insurgents which led to devastating consequences for the country both politically and economically. Currently, Libya has two supreme executive authorities, namely Tripoli’s government of National Accord recognized by the international community and headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and the interim government headed by Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani, which operates in the country’s east along with the elected parliament and is supported by the Libyan National Army.

On April 4, Haftar announced the launch of an offensive against Tripoli. On Friday, there were reports that his squads are actively approaching the capital from the south. Sarraj ordered all military units loyal to him to be on full alert and use force if needed.