Status quo in Libya is untenable, UN Security Council told
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The UN envoy for Libya said the country has lurched from one emergency to another in recent weeks and warned that Daesh is expanding its operations and Libya could become a refuge for terrorist groups of all persuasions.
Gassan Salame told the Security Council Wednesday that “the status quo in Libya is untenable.”
He urged council members to help address the “looming threat” from the spread of extremist groups, and support economic reforms and efforts to advance the political process and move toward national elections.
Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 uprising that overthrew long-ruling dictator Muammar Gaddafi and led to his death. The country is currently governed by rival authorities in the capital Tripoli and the country’s east, each of which are backed by an array of militias. Other armed groups have carved out fiefdoms across the country, with many profiting from smuggling and extortion.
Salame said violence that consumed the capital starting August 26 “shattered the facade of calm that had prevailed in Tripoli since May 2017.” Tanks and heavy artillery were deployed in residential neighbourhoods leaving 61 Libyans dead and nearly 160 injured, many of them civilians including children, he said.
