Libya: Haftar's Army Suspends Fight for Tripoli Due to Covid-19

Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) Saturday suspended fighting in Tripoli for humanitarian purposes in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, as local media reported.

RELATED:

Libya General Haftar Ready to Sign Ceasefire: French Presidency

A few hours earlier, however, the fight for this city, which the Government of National Accord stills controls, was quite intense.

In Tripoli's Ain Zara suburb, the LNA forces attempted to infiltrate areas defended by the GNA militias, which support the UN-backed government led by Fayez al Sarraj.

On Saturday, a GNA spokesperson claimed that his militias thwarted the infiltration that the LNA was trying to carry out, in which 10 people died. It was also known that a bombing killed four women and caused the further displacement of civilians.

Simultaneously, to avoid contagions with the Covid-19, the GNA militias were trying to be very careful when dealing with prisoners and corpses.

LNA troops in Benghazi and other cities under their control were trying to impose a curfew to limit the spread of the pandemic.

Libya's civil war flared up in Dec. 2019 when Haftar announced the "final battle" and ordered his troops to advance towards Tripoli.

A few days later, in January 2020, the LNA took Sirte city, thus causing a severe blow to the GNA government.

On Thursday, the United Nations reported that Covid-19 cases had not been detected in Tripoli and called to immediately stop the warlike actions.

According to the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL)​​​​​​​, the "humanitarian pause" would make it easier for the GNA and the LNA to approve the draft ceasefire agreement, which was reached on Feb. 23 in Geneva.