The battle for Libya’s capital intensified as the UN Security Council met Wednesday to discuss the crisis gripping the North African country, where armed rivals are locked in a deadly power struggle.
The closed-door talks in New York come a day after the United Nations postponed a Libyan national conference aimed at drawing up an election roadmap because of fighting raging on Tripoli’s doorstep.
Libya has been riven by divisions since the NATO-backed overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with various armed groups and two parallel governments vying for territory and oil wealth.
Heavy clashes were heard Wednesday in the Ain Zara district on the southeastern outskirts of Tripoli as military strongman Khalifa Haftar’s forces pressed an assault aimed at taking the capital from the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).
“The clashes have intensified. We’re afraid to leave the house,” a resident told AFP by telephone from the area, where roads were reported to have been blocked, hindering people’s efforts to flee.
The violence has already displaced thousands and left several dozen people dead.
The Libyan Red Crescent said it had evacuated civilians on Wednesday morning but had so far only had access to combat zones controlled by the GNA.
Led by Fayez al-Sarraj, the GNA’s authority is not recognised by a parallel administration in the east of the country, which is allied with Haftar.
