UN: Ceasefire deal reached to halt Libya fighting

The UN mission in Libya has brokered an agreement in the capital Tripoli to halt fighting that has rocked the capital Tripoli for over a week, Al Jazeera reported today.

The agreement was announced after the Libyan government said the death toll stemming from the violence reached 61, with scores injured.

“Under the auspices of [UN envoy Ghassan Salame], a ceasefire agreement was reached and signed today to end all hostilities, protect civilians, safeguard public and private property and reopen Mitiga airport in Tripoli,” the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) mission said.

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Fighting broke out in late August after an armed group based in Tarhouna, some 70 kilometres southeast of Tripoli,  launched a major offensive against the capital’s only working airport.

Libya descended in to lawlessness when Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was killed in a NATO-backed revolution in 2011. Uncontrolled factions have since fought for power with war breaking out between different alliance and Libya’s tribal factions. The UN-backed Government of National Accord has failed to ensure law and order.

Hundreds of migrants have been relocated from government-run detention centres as a result of the increase in violent clashes between rival groups.