MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the situation in Libya at 3 pm (22:00 Moscow Time) on Friday, the United Kingdom Mission to the UN wrote on its Twitter page.
"The UK has called for the UN Security Council to meet in closed consultations on #Libya at 3 pm tomorrow, Friday," it said. Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Ghassan Salame will brief the UNSC members on the current situation.
On Thursday, Commander of the Libyan National Army Khalifa Haftar ordered his troops to launch an offensive on the capital, vowing to liberate it from all illegal armed groups. He noted that the Libyan National Army "had heard the call" of Tripoli’s people.
Prime Minister of Tripoli’s Government of National Accord Fayez al-Sarraj ordered all military units controlled by him to be on full combat alert, giving the green light to airstrikes in order to "defend the civilian population and crucial facilities."
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is currently in Tripoli, where he held meetings with representatives of the country’s authorities. He called on the conflicting sides to stop military escalation.
Guterres is planning to meet with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar on Friday, Al Arabiya TV channel reported. The talks are expected to be held in Benghazi, located 1,000 km to the east of Tripoli, and will focus on the situation in the country amid the army’s offensive against the capital.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova voiced hope that a military scenario won’t be implemented in Libya.
