United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the Security Council on Wednesday that the conflict in Libya has entered a new phase “with foreign interference reaching unprecedented levels.”
The oil-producing country descended into chaos after the NATO-backed overthrow of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Since 2014, Libya has been split, with an internationally recognised government controlling the capital, Tripoli, and the northwest, while military leader Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi rules the east.
Haftar is supported by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while the government is backed by Turkey.
“The conflict has entered a new phase with foreign interference reaching unprecedented levels, including in the delivery of sophisticated equipment and the number of mercenaries involved in the fighting,” Guterres said.
Russian private military contractor Wagner Group has up to 1,200 people deployed in Libya, strengthening Haftar’s forces, according to a confidential May report by independent sanctions monitors to the U.N. Security Council Libya sanctions committee.
The warring parties are currently mobilizing forces at the new frontlines between the cities of Misrata and Sirte. Egypt has warned that any Turkish-backed effort to take Sirte could lead its army to directly intervene.
“We are very concerned about the alarming military build-up around the city, and the high-level of direct foreign interference in the conflict in violation of the UN arms embargo, UN Security Council resolutions, and commitments made by Member States in Berlin,” Guterres said.
Guterres said that between April and June this year the U.N. mission has documented at least 102 civilians deaths and 254 civilians injuries – a 172 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2020. He said there had also been at least 21 attacks on medical facilities, ambulances and medical personnel.
Guterres also called on the Security Council to take action over the obstruction by several key national officials of an international audit of the Central Bank of Libya.
He said the United Nations was working to mediate an end to a blockade imposed in January by eastern-based forces that has resulted in more than $6 billion in lost revenue for OPEC member Libya, aiming “to alleviate economic hardship compounded by the conflict and COVID-19.”
The confirmed number of coronavirus cases in Libya increased seven-fold in June to more than 1,000, but Guterres said “the true scale of the pandemic in Libya is likely to be much higher.”
