Libya: 443 killed, 2,100 injured since Haftar attack on Tripoli

Some 443 people have been killed and 2,110 wounded since Libyan General Khalifa Haftar launched his attack on the capital Tripoli early last month, the World Health Organiaation (WHO) revealed today.

Nearly 60,000 Libyan have also been forced out of their homes as result of the fighting with the WHO adding that it was coordinating health services for them.

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the United Nations was deeply concerned about reports that air strikes yesterday hit an immigration detention centre in Tajura, east of Tripoli, reportedly injuring two migrants.

He told reporters that the UN mission in Libya “is also very concerned by the increasing number of arbitrary arrests and the abduction of officials, activists and journalists,” and is calling for their immediate release.

In early April, General Haftar launched the “Flood of Dignity” campaign on regions in the west of the country, including the capital Tripoli. The move was widely condemned by the international community, who warned that it could plunge the country into active civil war once again.

The latest victory could signal the end of Haftar’s immediate plans to install himself as ruler of the whole country and ease a dangerous situation that has divided and confounded foreign governments with an interest in Libya.

Haftar visited stalwart supporter Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in Cairo in mid-April; the eastern warlord is also backed by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel, with France and Russia frequently accused of quietly supporting the Benghazi-based government, despite publicly endorsing UN resolutions.

READ: UN investigation into UAE military role in Libya conflict