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UN condemns car bomb attack killing 3 staffers in Libya

Other News Materials 11 August 2019 22:03 (UTC +04:00)
The United Nations (UN) condemned a car bomb attack in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday, which killed three UN workers and injured several others, the UN said in a statement
UN condemns car bomb attack killing 3 staffers in Libya

The United Nations (UN) condemned a car bomb attack in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday, which killed three UN workers and injured several others, the UN said in a statement, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

The UN victims served with the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), UN Special Representative for Libya Ghassan Salame confirmed Saturday in a separate statement, without giving more details

The attack took place outside Arkan Mall in the Hawari neighborhood, as a convoy of UN vehicles was passing the venue, a local source told Xinhua.

The Benghazi municipal council said that the attack targeted the convoy.

The east-based rebel Libyan National Army (LNA) Spokesman Ahmed Mismari said two of those killed were UNSMIL guards and 10 others were wounded, including children.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Security Council, at the request of France, called an urgent meeting Saturday afternoon to discuss the situation in Libya.

At the meeting, Joanna Wronecka, Polish UN ambassador and Council president for August, read out a statement of the council members to express their strong condemnation of the attack.

She said it confirmed that the chronic violence and instability "is creating a vacuum easily exploited by radical elements that thrive on chaos and violence" and noted that the attack occurred in an area "supposedly under full control" of the forces of the self-styled LNA.

"The UN does not intend to evacuate from Libya," she said. "For the foreseeable future, our place remains alongside the Libyan people, like our brave colleagues who gave their lives today."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday also condemned the car bomb attack.

"The secretary-general condemns in the strongest terms the car bomb attack today in Benghazi, Libya," according to a statement issued by Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres.

"He calls on the Libyan authorities to spare no effort in identifying and swiftly bringing to justice the perpetrators of this attack," the statement added.

The attack came as the UN was brokering a humanitarian truce between the Benghazi-based LNA and the UN-backed government based in Tripoli. The LNA has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over Tripoli.

Last month, a car bomb explosion hit a funeral of a former army official in Benghazi, killing four people and injuring more than 30 others.

Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, has witnessed years of violence targeting diplomatic offices and security forces after the 2011 uprising overthrew former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

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