Libyen

How the 2019 civil war is transforming Libya’s military landscape.

Intensifying clashes in the southern Libyan town of Murzuq involving air and drone strikes in recent days have left at least 90 people dead and displaced thousands of “terrified” civilians, the UN said on Tuesday.

Libya reopened on Friday its airport in the main southern city of Sebha which had been closed since January 2014 due to security problems, residents said.

The officials said on Tuesday that the self-styled Libyan National Army led by commander Khalifa Hifter carried out airstrikes overnight on the southern outskirts of Tripoli. They say the militias allied to the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli also shelled Hifter's forces in the area.

Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned a car bomb attack in front of a shopping mall in the Libyan city of Benghazi, which left three UN workers dead, and three others injured, with dozens of civilians also wounded.

Libya's internationally recognized government has allocated 40 million Libyan dinars ($28.5 million) for its defense ministry, it said on Tuesday, stepping up spending to fend off an eastern offensive as the war enters a fifth month.

A United Nations envoy called on Monday for a truce to be declared in Libya around Aug. 10, and warned that an influx of weapons from foreign supporters in violation of an arms embargo was fuelling the conflict.

Fighting in Libya “shows no signs of abating”, the head of the United Nations Support Mission (UNSMIL), told the Security Council on Monday, painting a grim picture of worsening humanitarian conditions, and warning that the instability and influx of foreign weapons is fueling a proxy war in the north African country.

Over the past five years, the Libyan conflict seems to have defied mediation efforts, which could have dire consequences for Libyans, for Libya’s neighbors and Europe. Despite its shortcomings, the UN’s approach remains the dominant framework for finding a political solution. However, the UN process will continue to falter as long as relevant regional and international actors work at cross purposes.