Pope Francis on Sunday appealed the warring parties to the Libya conflict to put an end to the ongoing civil war, reported Reuters.
During his Sunday afternoon address at the St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said he was pained by the current situation in Libya.
“Please! I urge international bodies and those who have political and military responsibilities to restart, with conviction and resolve, the search for a path towards an end to violence, leading to peace, stability and unity in the country,” he said.
Talking about the pandemic and the apparent deteriorating condition of the refugees and migrants in the Libyan migration detention centres, the pope said the international community should take necessary steps to facilitate talks to protect the refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons in Libya who are now vulnerable to exploitation and violence.
“There is cruelty. I call on the international community – Please! – to take their plight to heart … Brothers and sisters, we all have responsibility in this. No-one can consider themselves dispensed from this,” Pope Francis said.
Doctors Without Borders as well as other International human rights groups have claimed that people in migrant detention centres in Libya are being made to live in harmful conditions and exposed to exploitation and abuses.
Libya has been in unrest since 2011 when long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled following a civil war. The oil-rich North African nation has since split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups and international supporters.
Libya is split in two parts between the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the rival Libyan National Army (LNA).
The UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) controls the west, including the capital Tripoli, while military strongman Khalifa Haftar’s LNA has control over the eastern part of the country. Haftar’s forces launched an offensive on Tripoli in April 2019. The violence has killed more than 1,000 people and injured thousands so far.
