The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) reported there have been 358 civilian casualties in Libya, including women and children, from April to June, reported CGTN Africa.
On Wednesday, the UNSMIL said the leading cause of civilian casualties was ground fighting followed by explosive remnants of the ongoing war.
“The overall increase in civilian casualties was driven by a major escalation of hostilities, despite the calls for a cessation of hostilities by the United Nations and many UN member states,” the UNSMIL said.
The UN body renewed its call for all parties in the conflict to immediately stop all military operations, to protect civilians, and allow the authorities to respond to the threat of COVID-19.
On Tuesday, Libya’s Health Ministry said the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise in the country and it is difficult to prevent the local transmission in the war-torn country.
“All of Libya’s municipalities have officially moved from level 3 to level 4 of the pandemic, which means it has become difficult to track suspected cases, as the number of positive cases increases,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry urged everyone to be careful and abide by the basic precautionary measures to stop the spread of coornavirus. It has asked people to commit to social distancing, wear medical masks in public and wash their hands periodically.
The National Center for Disease Control on Tuesday reported 190 new cases on Tuesday, the highest daily increase since the first coronavirus case was detected in March. A total of 3,017 cases have so far been reported in Libya with 67 deaths and 579 recoveries.
The Libyan authorities have already taken a number of measures to prevent and control the spread of the coronavirus that includes closing the country’s borders, shutting down schools and mosques, banning public gatherings and imposing a curfew.
