(13 Apr 2020) Forces allied with the UN-supported government in Libya said on Monday they gained control of a key town that served as a base for rival forces launching an offensive on the country's capital.
The fight for Tripoli has been raging for nearly a year between military commander Khalifa Hifter's forces, which are allied with a rival government based in eastern Libya, and an array of militias in the west loosely linked to the UN-supported authorities in the capital.
The escalation in the fighting comes despite increased international pressure on both sides to halt the violence over concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.
Libya reported at least 25 cases of the virus and one fatality.
Col. Mohamed Gnounou, a spokesman for the Tripoli-allied forces, said they captured the city of Sabrata, around 75 kilometers (45.5 miles) west of Tripoli.
He said on his forces' official Facebook page that they also took the town of Sorman, 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of the capital.
There was no immediate comment from Hifter's self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Libya meanwhile condemned an airstrike that hit an ambulance near the western city of Misrata, killing a paramedic.
It said the attack was the eighth on health facilities this year.
The International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday said it feared that the coronavirus pandemic would compound the suffering of many Libyan families who were already struggling to meet basic needs amid the conflict.
Hifter's forces, which control much of the county, launched an offensive on Tripoli last April.
It has led to a military stalemate, killed hundreds of civilians and displaced more than 200,000 people, according to the UN.
The chaos in the oil-rich country has worsened in recent months as foreign backers increasingly intervene, despite pledges to the contrary at a high-profile peace summit in Berlin earlier this year.
Turkey has sent armoured drones, air defenses and more recently Syrian militants with links to extremist groups to prop up the embattled Tripoli government.
Russia, meanwhile, has deployed hundreds of mercenaries to boost Hifter's assault.
The United Arab Emirates and Egypt also back Hifter with fighter jets, drones and mine-resistant vehicles.

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