UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that the situation in Libya was not improving despite the recently announced truce. Calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world, he said “It is time to put armed conflict on lock-down and focus together on the true fight of our lives” referring to confronting the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a press conference, Guterres called on warring parties to pull back from hostilities, put aside mistrust and animosity, and to “silence the guns; stop the artillery; end the airstrikes”, adding that the new virus does not care about nationality or ethnicity, or other differences between people, and that it “attacks all, relentlessly”, including during wartime.
“End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world”, he appealed. “It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now. That is what our human family needs, now more than ever,” he added.
It should be noted that despite a ceasefire agreement between the Libyan National Army and forces aligned to the Government of National Accord, fighting has continued with a large number of civilian casualties being recorded.