BENGHAZI, Libya - Forces loyal to rival Libyan army commander Khalifa Hifter said Saturday they seized control of the main airport in Libya’s capital Tripoli, two days after Hifter ordered his forces to seize the seat of Libya’s U.N.-backed government. Hifter’s media office said in a post online that they took full control of the Tripoli international airport and were working to secure the facility. They posted photos of troops apparently inside the airport, saying “we are standing at the heart of the Tripoli international airport.”

Hifter’s offensive on Tripoli could plunge the oil-rich country into another spasm of violence, possibly the worst since the 2011 civil war that toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The country is governed by rival authorities: The internationally backed government in Tripoli and the government in the east, which Hifter is aligned with. Each are backed by an array of militias. There was no immediate statement from the U.N.-backed government, the militias that support it, or the U.N. The Tripoli airport has not been functional since fighting in 2014 destroyed much of the facility.

The media office said that troops also captured the area of Wadi el-Rabeia, south of Tripoli, amid clashed with rival militias backing the government of Fayez Sarraj in Tripoli. Hifter, leader of the self-styled Libyan National Army, announced Thursday he was deploying his forces toward Tripoli, sparking fears that the tensions could be escalating out of control as militias from the western cities of Zawiya and Misarata said that they have mobilized to confront Hifter. He also put at risk upcoming peace talks between Libyan rivals brokered by the U.N. aimed at drawing a roadmap for new elections. The U.N. Security Council on Saturday called on Hifter forces to halt all military movements and urged all forces in Libya “to de-escalate and halt military activity.”</s>Libyan army commander Khalifa Haftar on Thursday ordered his forces to march on Tripoli, the capital of the United Nations-backed government, sparking fears of a major showdown with rival militias.

The order to his Libya National Army posted in an audio recording online came as U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres visited the North African country and issued "a very strong appeal ... for all military movements to stop."

Mr. Haftar also put at risk upcoming peace talks between Libyan rivals brokered by the U.N. aimed at drawing a roadmap for new elections.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency closed-door meeting Friday afternoon at Britain's request to discuss the unfolding developments.

The 2011 NATO-supported uprising that toppled and later killed longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi led to chaos in Libya. The country has been split between rival governments in the east and west and an array of militias fighting over power and oil fields.

Mr. Haftar is allied with the east-based administration at odds with the U.N.-backed government based in Tripoli. Alongside the two rival administrations, mostly Islamic militias wield considerable influence and control large swathes of territory in the vast North African nation.

Mr. Haftar described his forces' move as a "victorious march" to "shake the lands under the feet of the unjust bunch."

"We are coming, Tripoli, we are coming," he said.

Mr. Haftar urged his forces to enter the city peacefully and only raise their weapons "in the face of those who seek injustice and prefer confrontation and fighting."

He also urged his forces not to open fire on any civilians or those who are unarmed.

"Those who lay down their weapons are safe, and those who raise the white banner are safe," he said.

Secretary-General Guterres not only urged a halt to military movements but appealed for "containment, calm" and "military and political and verbal de-escalation – and the recognition that ... there is no military solution for the problems in Libya."

He told a news conference in Tripoli shortly after Mr. Hifter announced the Tripoli offensive that a resumption of dialogue is essential, stressing that "the solution must be political."

Mr. Haftar's message, which was posted on the Facebook page of the army's media office, comes a day after his forces edged closer to Tripoli and took over the town of Gharyan, 31 miles from Tripoli without much fighting.

"I am sipping coffee now in Gharyan," Mr. Haftar's top aide Abdel-Salam al-Hassi told The Associated Press over the phone. "God willing, we will enter the rest of the cities without clashes."

Skirmishes were reported overnight in the mountain district of al-Assabaah, near Gharyan, in which two people – a resident and a militiaman – were killed, according to the media office of Mr. Haftar's forces.

The announcement of Mr. Haftar's intention to march on Tripoli comes days before the April 14-16 U.N.-brokered conference aimed at bridging the gap among Libya's factions and draw a road map for new elections and end the country's split.

Secretary-General Guterres is scheduled to meet Mr. Haftar in Benghazi on Friday and said his message will include that everyone in Libya must recognize the need for a political solution.

"And it is clear for me that we absolutely need to avoid the drama of what would be a major confrontation – namely a major confrontation in Tripoli," he said.

When the secretary-general was asked about postponing the national conference he said the U.N. wants to make sure the military movements end and calm is re-established, which will be important for the meetings to be successful.

"It is difficult to have a National Conference in an environment of global confrontation, so it is very important to de-escalate and to have a situation of restraint and calm."

Secretary-General Guterres is the second U.N. chief to visit Libya since the 2011 uprising that toppled Mr. Qaddafi. Ban Ki-moon visited in October 2014. Libya, the oil-rich North African country, fell in a series of civil wars in different towns and cities, where heavily armed militias fought over power and oil.

Mr. Haftar's spokesman, Ahmed al-Mesmari, said LNA forces will give the militiamen in control of the capital the option of surrendering or staying home.

"You choose between staying home, handing over your weapons, or raising the white banner," he said, addressing the militias in control of Tripoli.

He said there will be no dialogue with the militias, whom he described as "terrorists," adding that the "game is over" and the "rifle, the artillery, and the jet are the ones speaking now."

He also vowed to protect the upcoming peace conference saying the military movement is a separate track from politics.

"The army has nothing to do with politics or with political movement by the United Nations," he said.

The European Union's mission to Libya on Thursday also expressed concern over "the military buildup underway in Libya and the escalatory rhetoric which seriously risks leading to an uncontrollable confrontation."

Mr. Haftar's army has spread its footprint from eastern Libya where it first battled mostly Islamic militias and Islamist groups, starting in 2014. The campaign then extended southward as Mr. Haftar's forces took control of key towns and border crossings earlier this year and now is pushing west, toward Tripoli.

Mr. Haftar, who is backed by Egypt and Gulf Arab nations such as the United Arab Emirates, has labeled his rivals as "terrorists" and said in more than one occasion that "liberating" Tripoli is his ultimate goal.

Since Mr. Qaddafi's ouster and killing, Libya has descended into chaos, with two rival administrations and an array of militias fighting over power and oil fields.

This story was reported by The Associated Press. Maggie Michael and Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report.</s>International concern is mounting over the situation in Libya. The Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, says it has now advanced into the southern outskirts of the capital Tripoli, where the U.N.-backed government is located.

G7 foreign ministers have urged an end to the fighting. "We urge all involved parties to immediately halt all military activity and movements toward Tripoli," the body, which is composed of the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. wrote in a statement.

The U.N. Security Council, which met behind closed doors on Friday, has also called on Libyan National Army forces to cease their advances.

The fear, according to The Associated Press, is that the Libyan National Army's advances toward the capitol could lead to "a major showdown with rival militias." Both the Libyan National Army and the U.N.-backed government have various militias supporting them.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres left Libya on Friday. He met with Gen. Haftar and then told journalists he was leaving Libya "with a deep concern and a heavy heart." Guterres has insisted that Libya needs a political solution, not a military one, and said the U.N. is available to facilitate a peace process.

Libya has been extremely unstable since NATO-backed forces deposed its former dictator Moammar Ghadafi in 2011.

In a 2016 interview with Fox News, former President Barack Obama called his handling of the aftermath of that revolution the worst mistake of his presidency. Obama has said the U.S. should have done more to fill the vacuum left by Ghadafi.

By 2014, Libya had devolved into a civil war, and ISIS had become increasingly influential there. According to Reuters, the U.S. provided air support to Libyan forces fighting ISIS in 2016 and continued to launch strikes on suspected militants there after the end of that campaign.

A study conducted by the New America Foundation found that at least 2,158 airstrikes and drone strikes were conducted by foreign and domestic powers in Libya between September 2012 and June 2018. According to the study's estimates, between 242 and 395 civilians were killed in the strikes, and between 324 and 524 were wounded.

New America found that the Libyan National Army, led by Haftar, conducted 1,112 of those airstrikes. The United States conducted 524 of them.

In addition to political and military chaos in Libya, there have also been reports of gross human rights violations there. Last year, the United Nations human rights office found that the country contained "open slave markets" where migrants were bought and sold. According to Reuters, various armed groups control many of the country's ports and beaches.</s>Tripoli, Libya, April 5 (Infosplusgabon) - Helping to promote a “Libyan-led and Libyan owned political solution” to resolve years of instability and insecurity there that puts the “welfare of the Libyan people” first, is the sole agenda of the United Nations within the country, Secretary-General António Guterres told a press conference in the nation’s capital, Tripoli, on Thursday.

Guterres spoke to reporters after holding meetings with senior politicians and others to advance the UN’s idea, first proposed more than a year ago and discussed in town halls across the country, of convening a Libyan National Conference on the nation’s political future, which could finally end years of turmoil following the removal from power of Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011.

Libyans “have suffered too much and deserve to live in a normal country with normal political institutions, with peace, security and prosperity,” said Mr. Guterres, adding that “the UN has no agenda and no interests in relation to Libya but one: the welfare of the Libyan people, the peace in the country, and the possibility to live in a normal democracy and to take profit of the enormous wealth of the country to benefit its citizens.”

"It is not through foreign intervention that we are going to solve the problems of any country”, he added, “and so it’s important that that principle also applies to Libya.”

The Conference, he said, would be “Libyan-led and Libyan-owned inside Libyan territory to be able to discuss the future of Libya…And the UN is totally committed” to organising it, he explained.

Following the movement of military convoys from the east towards the capital, reported early on Thursday, the UN chief made a “strong appeal” for de-escalation and an end to any deployments by any military factions within the fractured State.

After meeting the President of the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord, he said, “We share the recognition that there is no military solution for any problem in the world, and there is no military solution for the problems in Libya. The solution must be political, and it is essential that a political solution is very strong through dialogue.”

Resuming political dialogue between the internationally-recognized Government and military factions which control - or are seeking to control - other parts of the country was essential, said Mr. Guterres: “I am ready to assume the initiative that might be necessary for that to be possible, if the conditions allowing for it are met”, he added.

The UN chief also described how he had been “moved and shocked” after visiting a detention centre for refugees and migrants, “shocked by the level of suffering, and especially by the level of despair that I found. This is, of course, not only a responsibility for Libya, it’s a responsibility for the whole of the international community”, he remarked.

He told reporters that for migrants and refugees in search of a better life who feel compelled to travel through Libya in the hopes of reaching Europe, “it would be very difficult to argue that disembarkation in Libya is disembarkation in a safety situation.

“My appeal is for the international community to understand the need for international refugee law to be fully respected, and the need to address the migration problem in a way that is compatible with the defence of the interests of the State, but also the human rights of the migrants.”</s>CAIRO (AP) - Forces loyal to rival Libyan army commander Khalifa Hifter say they have seized control of the main airport in Libya's capital Tripoli, two days after Hifter ordered his forces to seize the seat of Libya's U.N.-backed government.

Hifter's media office says Saturday that troops also captured the area of Wadi el-Rabeia, south of Tripoli, amid clashed with rival militias.

The airport has not been functional since fighting in 2014 destroyed much of the facility.

There was no immediate statement from the U.N.-backed government, the militias that support it, or the U.N..

Hifter's forces have sparked fears of a major showdown with the militias.

Such a conflict could plunge Libya into another spasm of violence, possibly the worst since the 2011 civil war that toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2017 file photo, Libyan militia commander General Khalifa Hifter meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia. The U.N. chief says he's worried about a major armed showdown in Libya and is urging warring factions to instead turn to dialogue. Forces loyal to Hifter, who commands the self-styled Libya National Army that's based in the country's east, took control overnight Wednesday April 3, 2019, of the town of Gharyan, 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Tripoli, without major clashes. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)</s>(Tunis) – All forces taking part in fighting around Libya’s capital, Tripoli, should take all necessary action to minimize civilian harm and abide by the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. Armed groups loyal to both sides have a record of abusing civilians.

Fighters led by General Khalifa Hiftar, known as the Libyan National Army (LNA), have a well-documented record of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, summary executions of captured fighters, and arbitrary detention. Militias affiliated with the United Nations-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and based in western Libya also have a record of abuses against civilians.

“Whenever rival armed forces clash in Libyan cities, it’s civilians who suffer the most,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “All sides need to abide by the laws of war and minimize civilian harm.”

On April 4, 2019, LNA forces advanced to within 30 to 40 kilometers of Tripoli in a move to take the capital, according to news reports, after strengthening Hiftar’s influence in southern Libya. The western part of the country, including Tripoli, remains dominated by the GNA or militias affiliated with it.

These developments occurred as UN Secretary-General António Guterres was in the capital ahead of a UN-led conference, planned for April 14 through 16 in the city of Ghadames, to reconcile Libyan rivals and chart a course toward elections.

Since the outbreak of conflict in 2014, Libya has had first three, then two, rival governments claiming legitimacy – the GNA in Tripoli, and the “Interim Government” based in the eastern cities of al-Bayda and Tobruk that is allied with Hiftar.

Hiftar has reportedly ordered LNA forces not to target civilians in Tripoli. However, fighters under his command have been implicated in serious abuses against civilians elsewhere in the country, including preventing civilians from leaving areas under siege, looting and burning homes, and carrying out summary executions. Hiftar is not known to have held any LNA forces accountable for war crimes or human rights abuses.

The International Criminal Court (ICC), which has jurisdiction over Libya, has issued an arrest warrant for only one person for crimes committed since the ouster of the Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011: LNA special forces commander Mahmoud al-Warfalli, whose current whereabouts and activities are unknown.

The court issued the warrant on August 15, 2017 for murder, for al-Warfalli’s alleged role in the killing of 33 people in seven incidents in and around Benghazi between June 2016 and July 2017. On July 4, 2018, the ICC issued a second warrant for al-Warfalli for his alleged involvement in another incident. He should be immediately surrendered to the ICC.

Militias in western Libya have also committed serious abuses, Human Rights Watch said. They include failing to take all feasible precautions during fighting in residential areas to spare civilians; forcibly displacing people without military justification and barring their return home; arbitrarily detaining and abusing thousands of migrants and asylum seekers; and persecuting journalists and civil society activists.

Under the laws of war, which apply to internal armed conflicts like the one in Libya, warring parties must direct attacks only at military targets. Deliberate, indiscriminate, or disproportionate attacks against civilians and civilian structures are prohibited. Warring parties must “take all feasible precautions” to avoid or minimize harm to civilians and damage to civilian structures.

The laws of war require treating detained civilians and captured fighters humanely. Commanders and prison authorities should communicate clearly to forces under their command that torture and other ill-treatment are prohibited. Anyone taken into custody should be informed of the specific basis for their detention and be able to contest their detention before an impartial authority. Detaining authorities should keep a registry of the names of fighters and civilians known to have been killed or detained as a result of the hostilities, and make the information available to the next of kin.

Serious violations of the laws of war, when committed with criminal intent, are war crimes. Those who commit, order, assist, or have command responsibility for war crimes are subject to prosecution by domestic courts or the ICC.

The ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed in Libya since February 15, 2011, under UN Security Council Resolution 1970. The ICC prosecutor has in the past warned that her office “will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute those who commit crimes under the Court’s jurisdiction in Libya irrespective of their official status or affiliation.”</s>Apple TV+ streaming service to launch November 1

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UK says Iran broke word with oil transfer to Syria</s>U.N. Urges An End To Fighting In Libya As Opposition Army Heads Toward Tripoli

International concern is mounting over the situation in Libya. The Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, says it has now advanced into the southern outskirts of the capital Tripoli, where the U.N.-backed government is located.

G7 foreign ministers have urged an end to the fighting. "We urge all involved parties to immediately halt all military activity and movements toward Tripoli," the body, which is composed of the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. wrote in a statement.

The U.N. Security Council, which met behind closed doors on Friday, has also called on Libyan National Army forces to cease their advances.

The fear, according to The Associated Press, is that the Libyan National Army's advances toward the capitol could lead to "a major showdown with rival militias." Both the Libyan National Army and the U.N.-backed government have various militias supporting them.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres left Libya on Friday. He met with Gen. Haftar and then told journalists he was leaving Libya "with a deep concern and a heavy heart." Guterres has insisted that Libya needs a political solution, not a military one, and said the U.N. is available to facilitate a peace process.

Libya has been extremely unstable since NATO-backed forces deposed its former dictator Moammar Ghadafi in 2011.

In a 2016 interview with Fox News, former President Barack Obama called his handling of the aftermath of that revolution the worst mistake of his presidency. Obama has said the U.S. should have done more to fill the vacuum left by Ghadafi.

By 2014, Libya had devolved into a civil war, and ISIS had become increasingly influential there. According to Reuters, the U.S. provided air support to Libyan forces fighting ISIS in 2016 and continued to launch strikes on suspected militants there after the end of that campaign.

A study conducted by the New America Foundation found that at least 2,158 airstrikes and drone strikes were conducted by foreign and domestic powers in Libya between September 2012 and June 2018. According to the study's estimates, between 242 and 395 civilians were killed in the strikes, and between 324 and 524 were wounded.

New America found that the Libyan National Army, led by Haftar, conducted 1,112 of those airstrikes. The United States conducted 524 of them.

In addition to political and military chaos in Libya, there have also been reports of gross human rights violations there. Last year, the United Nations human rights office found that the country contained "open slave markets" where migrants were bought and sold. According to Reuters, various armed groups control many of the country's ports and beaches.</s>European Parliament president Antonio Tajani has expressed anxiety over a new migrant crisis in Libya, due to the prospect of the current government being toppled by a powerful general.

Tajani said the European Union was concerned over the recent developments in Libya that have seen General Khalifa Haftar and his forces advance on the capital of Tripoli, Il Giornale reports.

The renegade general ordered his Libyan National Army to take the city earlier this week, with troops loyal to the government saying they will resist the move and stop Haftar and his men.

Tajani called on all sides in the conflict to “stop and avoid any violent action,” adding: “There can be no military solution to the Libyan crisis. A new conflict would only cause further loss of life and enormous damage to the country and its population.”

Tajani also warned that conflict could lead to the “risk of a new migration crisis, with the increase in [migration] flows, mainly to Italy and other Mediterranean countries.”

The EU Parliament chief advocated for the EU to “intervene immediately and speak with a single and authoritative voice, contributing to a peaceful and democratic solution, within the framework of the United Nations, as requested several times by the European Parliament.”

A new wave of migration from Libya would come just as the number of migrants attempting to get to Europe from its shores has greatly decreased due, in large part, to the anti-mass migration policies of Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini.

Data released earlier this year also revealed that the number of migrants drowining in the Mediterranean had also gone down due to Salvini’s Australia-style “stop the boats, stop the drownings” policy of refusing port access to migrant rescue NGO vessels.</s>Forces loyal to rival Libyan army commander Khalifa Hifter said Saturday they seized control of the main airport in Libya's capital Tripoli, two days after Hifter ordered his forces to seize the seat of Libya's U.N.-backed government.

Hifter's media office said in a post online that they took full control of the Tripoli international airport and were working to secure the facility. They posted photos of troops apparently inside the airport, saying "we are standing at the heart of the Tripoli international airport."

Hifter's offensive on Tripoli could plunge the oil-rich country into another spasm of violence, possibly the worst since the 2011 civil war that toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The country is governed by rival authorities: The internationally backed government in Tripoli and the government in the east, which Hifter is aligned with. Each is backed by an array of militias.

Fayez Sarraj, chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya, said his government had offered concessions to Hifter "to avoid bloodshed and to end divisions" and was surprised by Hifter's order to take the capital.

"We were stabbed in the back," he said Saturday in televised comments, adding that his forces would confront Hifter's troops with "force and determination."

The Tripoli airport has not been functional since fighting in 2014 destroyed much of the facility.

The media office said that troops also captured the area of Wadi el-Rabeia, south of Tripoli, amid clashed with militias loyal to Sarraj.

Ahmed al-Mesmari, spokesman for the self-styled Libyan National Army led by Hifter, said 14 troops had been killed since Hifter declared the offensive. He said rival militias launched four airstrikes Saturday targeting Hifter's position in the town of al-Aziziya, but that no casualties had been reported.

Hifter announced Thursday he was deploying his forces toward Tripoli, sparking fears that the tensions could be escalating out of control as militias from the western cities of Zawiya and Misarata said that they have mobilized to confront Hifter.

He also put at risk upcoming peace talks between Libyan rivals brokered by the U.N. aimed at drawing a roadmap for new elections.

The U.N. Security Council on Saturday called on Hifter forces to halt all military movements and urged all forces in Libya "to de-escalate and halt military activity."

The U.N. envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, said the UN is determined to hold the planned national conference later this month to set time for possible elections.

Speaking at a news conference in Tripoli, he said he was striving to prevent the new crisis from getting out of control. "We have worked for one year for this national conference, we won't give up this political work quickly," he said.

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Libyan National Army troops reach the outskirts of the Libyan capital Tripoli, securing a key military checkpoint known as "Bridge 27".