Libya: UN mission strongly condemns air strikes on western airport

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) today strongly condemned repeated air strikes on an airport in the western town of Zintan that it said have endangered civilians and seriously undermined attempts at securing a solution to the Libyan crisis.

In a statement, UNSMIL reminded all parties that under international humanitarian law, the repeated attacks on civilian facilities in recent days may constitute war crimes.

With significant efforts under way towards a comprehensive ceasefire and progress made on de-escalating hostilities – such as in the Oil Crescent area – the UN Mission urged all military actors to desist from taking actions that increase tensions.

UNSMIL chief Bernardino Léon has been facilitating successive rounds of talks between Libyan parties – initially hosted by the UN Office at Geneva and then moving on to Algeria and, just last week, Morocco – and recently warned that while the parties are entering a “decisive round” in the negotiations, ongoing fighting in Libya and tensions elsewhere in the region sounded “another alarm” regarding the delicate nature of the country’s peace-building process.