EU calls on rival parties to cease all military operations

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said that the political escalation in and around the capital are endangering civilians, including migrants and refugees, and disrupting the UN-led political process, with the risk of serious consequences for Libya and the wider region, including the terrorist threat.

In a statement, the European Union and its member states call on all parties to immediately cease all military operations.

The LNA and all the forces that have moved towards Tripoli or its vicinity must withdraw and the humanitarian truces called by the UN must be heeded, Mogherini said.

She warned of the terrible consequences of these battles on Libya and the entire region, as there are terrorist threats escalating, which requires everyone to move towards a political solution, as there is only this solution to the crisis experienced by Libya for 8 years.

Libya has also become a haven for armed groups, including several from neighboring countries and a major conduit for African migrants hoping to reach Europe.

LNA’s offensive has led to clashes with rival militias that support the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli.

The escalation has threatened to plunge the fractured nation deeper into chaos.

A spokesperson for LNA said that ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir and his associates had been supplying the U.N.-backed militias with arms and fighters.

Ahmed al-Mesmari said in a televised statement late Friday that two military planes took off from Sudan’s capital Khartoum on March 28 carrying insurgents, “weapons and ammunition” and landed at Tripoli’s Matiga air base controlled by the militias.