Libya facing 'fatal' coronavirus catastrophe as war escalates, diplomats warn

Fighting between Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord and rebel leader General Khalifa Hafar’s army has surged despite commitments by both sides to respect a “humanitarian pause” to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. 

Heavy shelling on Monday continued around Tripoli and the western city of Misrata on Monday after a weekend of violence that saw dozens of fighters on both sides reported killed. 

Western diplomats have warned of a "fatal" situation if fighting does not stop to allow both sides to concentrate on combating Covid-19.

“A halt in hostilities is an absolute necessity to provide public health authorities across Libya the opportunity to collaborate, in a spirit of national cohesion, to contain and overcome this outbreak,” Richard Norland, the US ambassador to Libya, said in an open letter to both sides over the weekend.

“The best approach to concretize the humanitarian truce is for General Haftar to suspend his campaign on Tripoli, allowing both sides to return to the ceasefire framework established through UNSMIL’s 5+5 negotiations in Geneva,” he wrote.

Gen Haftar, who runs a rival government based in the eastern city of Benghazi and controls large swathes of the country, launched an assault on Tripoli on April 4 last year.

The offensive quickly ran out of steam and for the past year the two sides have been fighting a war of attrition centred on the city’s southern outskirts.

The pace of fighting slowed considerably after world powers signed up to a peace plan at a summit in Berlin in January, but has escalated sharply again in the past week.

UN officials have in the past expressed frustration with countries that continue to supply weapons to either side despite a UN arms embargo. Gen Haftar is lavishly supported by the United Arab Emirates, while the GNA accepts support from Turkey.

At least 35 pro-government fighters were killed in fighting near Abugrein, 60 miles south of Misrata, on Saturday. Pro-Government sources claimed 80 fighters from Haftar forces were also killed.

A witness told the Telegraph that airstrikes and “heavy artillery from both sides” were being used in the area on Monday, but that ground fighting has paused.

The GNA also claimed a drone strike on one of Gen Haftar's operations room killed key commanders near the city of Sirte over the weekend.

Near Tripoli, a GNA lost ground when an offensive to take a strategic airfield from Gen Haftar's Libyan Arab Armed Forces in retaliation for shelling of the capital last week.

Libya's first coronavirus case was confirmed on Tuesday. The World Health Organization has classified Libya as a high-risk country because of its fragile public health institutions and ongoing war.

Peter Millett, a former British ambassador to Libya, said both sides appeared to be attempting to take ground and fighting was unlikely to stop unless the international community backed up its calls for Gen Haftar to halt his offensive with action. 

"Ambassador Norland's statement was excellent, but it needs to be backed up by high level actions by Washington in Cairo, Abu Dhabi, and Ankara,” he said.   

An FCO spokesperson said:   “We are concerned by a significant increase in fighting in Libya, despite agreement from both sides for a humanitarian truce. We continue to call on all parties to de-escalate, abide by public commitments, and focus on the shared threat of coronavirus.”