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U.N. Security Council considers demanding Libya ceasefire

16 April 2019 21:41 (UTC +04:00)

The U.N. Security Council is considering a British-drafted resolution that would demand a ceasefire in Libya and call on all countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance, ONA reports quoting Reuters.

Diplomats from the 15-member council are due to meet later on Tuesday to discuss the text that also calls for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya, which has been gripped by anarchy and conflict since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

The latest flare-up began almost two weeks ago - during a visit to the country by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres - when eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) advanced to the outskirts of the capital Tripoli.

Haftar’s forces predicted victory within days, but Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s internationally-recognized government has managed to bog them down in southern suburbs with help from armed groups from various western Libyan factions.

Guterres has been calling for a truce since he left Tripoli, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.