UN’s Libya envoy: Haftar’s actions looked like coup

The United Nations (UN)’s envoy to Libya says self-styled commander Khalifa Haftar attempted a “coup” by issuing an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and other officials in the country’s internationally-recognized government.

General Haftar’s eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) attacked the capital, Tripoli — where Serraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA) is seated — early this month in an offensive that he has claimed is meant to eradicate “terrorism.”

UN Envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame told BBC radio on Monday that Haftar’s issuance of arrest warrants during that offensive “sounded more like a coup than counter-terrorism.”

The attack on the capital has prompted intense fighting between Haftar’s forces and those loyal to the GNA.

Salame said neither side could achieve military superiority over the other. “We are in fact in a military stalemate since eight days, or nine days [ago],” he said.

The UN envoy said both sides had carried out airstrikes that also hit civilian infrastructure and residential buildings, especially in the south of Tripoli.

The fighting has killed at least 147 people and left 614 others wounded, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The UN agency urged “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid causing collateral damage to hospitals, ambulances, and health workers.”

The fighting prompted WHO to deploy medical teams “to support Tripoli-area hospitals as they cope with the influx of trauma cases.”

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned about an “escalation” in the fighting, which “could create even further displacement.”

“The situation on the ground continues deteriorating and number of casualties soaring,” the UNHCR said in a tweet.

SS