The U.S. and Italian embassies in Libya condemned an airstrike that killed innocent children in Libya on Monday, reported Xinhuanet.
Three children were killed, and three other civilians were injured in an airstrike that hit a house in the Libyan capital Tripoli. The internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, condemned the airstrike and accused the rival eastern-based army led by Khalifa Haftar of targeting the civilians. The eastern-based army has denied responsibility for the strike.
Richard Norland, U.S. Ambassador to Libya, said he was disappointed by the reports that three young sisters were killed in an aerial bombing conducted in Tripoli.
“These tragic and senseless deaths unite us all in calling for an immediate end to the fighting and the start of a political process leading to lasting peace in Libya,” the U.S. Embassy tweeted.
Italy’s embassy also condemned the attack that led to the killing of the innocent sisters. It called for immediate end to the armed conflict and all unrestrained aerial bombings, as well as commitment to dialogue, peace democracy and development in Libya.
Meanwhile, UNICEF has also expressed sadness and shock at the killing of the children as a result of the shelling of Al-Furnaj area in Tripoli. The international organization has condemned the attack in the strongest terms in a statement and called on all parties to the fighting to protect children.
It also called for full compliance with international humanitarian law and respect for the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), stressing that no child or family should be subjected to such violence or loss.
The UN-backed government has been engaged in deadly armed conflict against Haftar’s eastern-based army, which is trying to take over Tripoli and overthrow the UN-backed government. The fighting has already killed at least 1,093 people, wounded 5,752, and displaced some 120,000 others.
