Libya: 250,000 People Flee Fighting of Rival Groups
- Updated Sep 05, 2014
About 100,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Libya’s main cities, according to a United Nations report. Another 150,000 have fled the country.
The report, from the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, also said that there were several cases of human rights abuses between May and August.
In Libya, an Islamist-allied group called Libyan Dawn appointed a new government in Tripoli. Libyan Dawn took control of the capital in August.
The elected government, which was chosen in June, has fled to escape the fighting. It said in a statement, "The government reiterates that these buildings and the public headquarters are not safe and inaccessible, because they are under the control of armed men."
In Benghazi, Libya, a retired military general had launched an operation against the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries.
“In comparison to typical armed forces, armed groups in Libya have received little training and do not operate with the appropriate discipline and command and control systems. Fighters appear often to disregard the likely impact on civilians, and sometimes on themselves, of their actions," the UN report said.
Publication date: September 5, 2014
