The civil war in Libya is in danger of intensifying as foreign intervention grows and the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic adds to a deepening sense of insecurity, the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) told the Security Council on Tuesday.
Stephanie Williams, who is also Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, said on Tuesday that while the rest of the world adjusts to life with the novel coronavirus, Libyans have dealt with almost constant bombardment and frequent water and electricity outages during the holy month Ramadan.
She urged Council members to come together and apply "consistent and credible pressure" on those regional and international actors that are fuelling the conflict, which has left one million civilians in need of humanitarian assistance.
She expressed particular concern about the situation of migrants and asylum-seekers, including at least 1,400 who have been expelled this year from eastern Libya in violation of the country's international human rights obligations.
She went on to say that the fighting - compounded with the pandemic and an ongoing oil blockade that has cost Libya more than $4 billion - is aggravating an already fraught socioeconomic situation.
