The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday said more than 1000 people have lost their lives and 5000 people have been injured in Libya since the armed conflict between Khalifa Haftar-led Libyan National Army (LNA) and UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) started in early April, reported Aljazeera.
Haftar and his forces initiated the war to capture the capital, Tripoli. Due to the fighting, more than 100,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.
“The casualties of this week’s attack on a migrant centre in Tajoura are 53 dead and 130 injured, making the overall toll of the Tripoli conflict nearly 1000 dead & more than 5000 wounded,” The World Health Organisation posted on Twitter.
The international body called out for peace and ceasefire in Libya to ensure the safety of the people living in the country.
“WHO urges a rapid & peaceful solution so that all people in #Libya are safe from harm,” the tweet read.
The death toll announced included at least 60 detained migrants who died in an air strike on a detention centre in the Tripoli suburb of Tajoura on Tuesday. A spokesman for the International Organization for Migration revealed that six children were among the migrants killed.
The United Nations reported that the guards shot at migrants as they tried to escape the bombing. It has called for an independent investigation to determine who was responsible for the strike on the centre.
Meanwhile, Libya’s UN-backed government has said the United Arab Emirates used a US-made F-16 fighter jet in the attack on the migrant detention center.
Fathi Bashaagha, the Interior Minister of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), made the accusation on Friday. He added that further investigation is now underway.
“We accuse the UAE of bombing the center with an F-16 jet,” Bashaagha said.
