Mohamed Sayala, the Foreign Minister of Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord, on Wednesday called out to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate a recent deadly airstrike on the southern city of Murzuq, reported Xinhuanet. The strike, which hit a town hall meeting in the town of Murzuq on Sunday, killed 43 people and injured more than 60 others.
The minister demanded the court to pursue and punish those who committed the crime before the international court as a crime of war and a crime against humanity.
Condemning the attack, the government made an appeal to the UN Mission in Libya and the international community to assume their responsibility and investigate the crimes committed by the militias in Murzuq.
The forces of rebel Gen Khalifa Haftar, which has been controlling Murzuq since February, announced they targeted airstrikes on Chadian militants around the Murzuq city, but denied targeting civilians.
The government has been engaged in a deadly armed conflict against the Libyan National Army (LNA) since early April.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the fighting between Haftar’s forces and GNA led forces has so far killed more than 1,000 people, injured more than 5,700 others, and forced over 120,000 people to flee their homes.
On Tuesday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called on rival Libyan parties to refrain from attacking civilian areas, as the armed conflict between the UN-backed government and the east-based army continues.
“UNICEF calls on all parties to the conflict to refrain from attacks on civilian areas and keep children out of harm’s way at all times … Attack on children is one of the grave violations of children’s rights,” said a UNICEF statement.
Libya has been facing turmoil ever since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.
