Europe calls for humanitarian truce in Libya as fighting rages

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Italy and the EU's top diplomat made a joint call on Saturday for a humanitarian truce in Libya, saying all sides must resume peace talks.

"We want to unite our voices to those of the UN Secretary-General (Antonio) Guterres and his Acting Special Representative for Libya, Stephanie Turco Williams, in their call for a humanitarian truce in Libya," the statement said.

"We call on all the Libyan actors to get inspired by the spirit of the Holy Ramadan, engage in resuming talks for a genuine ceasefire," said the statement, signed by the EU's Josep Borrell, France's Jean-Yves Le Drian, Italy's Luigi di Maio and Heiko Maas of Germany.

Fighting escalates 

Libya's conflict escalated sharply this month, with fierce fighting on several different fronts in the west of the country despite urgent calls from the UN and aid agencies for a truce to tackle the coronavirus crisis.

World leaders met in Berlin in January to set the basis for what they hoped was a fresh chance for a peace process. 

But the new wave of fighting has been fuelled by arms imported from abroad, Williams has said.

Arms blockade 

The European Union has launched a new naval and air mission in the eastern Mediterranean to stop more arms reach warring factions in Libya but cannot patrol the Egypt-Libya land border, through which artillery is still being delivered to warlord Khalifa Haftar.

The EU is concerned that the conflict could worsen regional instability and swell the flow of migrants from the Middle East and Africa almost a decade after Muammar Gaddafi's fall in 2011.