Germany Calls for UN Security Council Meeting On Libya

Germany has requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting on Libya after negotiators failed to agree on a draft resolution for a ceasefire in Tripoli. The council is expected to meet behind closed doors on Thursday to “consult on the way forward,” according to AFP. The World Health Organization announced on Thursday that about 200 people have been killed and 900 injured in two weeks of fighting near the Libyan capital. Libyan National Army head Khalifa Haftar’s forces recently launched  an offensive to retake Tripoli from the internationally-backed government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj. Khalifa was a general in the army of former strongman Moammar Qaddafi, who was deposed and killed in an uprising in 2011. Since then, Haftar – whose primary backers include Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and France – has refused all power-sharing proposals and does not view al-Serraj as a legitimate leader. Haftar claims his assault is necessary to restore order to Libya by eliminating “terrorists.”