UN chief warns foreign interference in Libya `unprecedented'

9/7/2020 18:23

        U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that foreign interference in Libya's war has reached "unprecedented levels" and urged key players and their backers to unblock the political stalemate and agree to a cease-fire and peace talks.
        
        Calling the current situation "gloomy," the U.N. chief said Wednesday that the United Nations political mission in Libya is undertaking de-escalation efforts, "including the creation of a possible demilitarized zone," to try to reach a negotiated solution and spare lives. He said between April 1 and June 30 there were at least 102 civilian deaths and 254 civilians wounded in Libya, "a 172% increase compared to the first quarter of 2020.”
        
        Guterres addressed a high-level meeting of the U.N. Security Council six months after leaders of 11 world powers and other countries with interests in Libya's long-running civil war agreed at a conference in Berlin to respect a much-violated U.N. arms embargo, hold off on military support to the warring parties, and push them to reach a full cease-fire.