Acting special representative Stephanie Williams told the U.N. Security Council that its actions “will help determine whether the country descends into new depths of fragmentation and chaos, or progresses towards a more prosperous future.”

Oil-rich Libya was plunged into disorder when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The county has since split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

Eastern military commander Khalifa Hifter launched an offensive in April 2019 trying to capture the capital of Tripoli. But Hifter’s campaign collapsed in June when militias backing the U.N.-supported government in Tripoli, with Turkish support, gained the upper hand, driving his forces from the outskirts of the capital and other western towns.

Fayez Sarraj, head of the Tripoli-based government, announced a cease-fire Aug. 21, but forces loyal to Hifter dismissed the move as a “deception,” claiming that rival militias were preparing to attack the strategic city of Sirte.

Williams told the council in …continued .
[Source: Washington Post]