Libya War Escalation Is Straining ‘Decimated’ Health System
- UN envoy Williams calls ascalation ‘reckless’ and ‘inhumane’
- Central bank audit, part of economic deal, is being obstructed
A man inspects a hospital room after rocket attacks hit the al-Hadra Hospital, which has many patients with chronic illnesses and especially coronavirus in Tripoli, Libya, on April 5.
Photographer: Amru Salahuddien/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Sign up here for our daily coronavirus newsletter on what you need to know, and subscribe to our Covid-19 podcast for the latest news and analysis.
An escalation in Libya’s year-long war is straining the North African country’s ability to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the acting United Nations envoy said, as foreign powers intervening continue to flout an arms embargo.
“It’s incredibly reckless. It’s inhumane, it’s stretching the capacity of local authorities and the health infrastructure that is already decimated,” Stephanie Williams told Bloomberg in an interview on Thursday. “And they’re whistling past the graveyard, that’s what they’re doing.”
The intensified fighting has closed down one of Tripoli’s largest hospitals, which came under three days of shelling as the country reported at least 24 cases of coronavirus infections. It also followed the announcement of a humanitarian truce between the internationally recognized government in Tripoli and eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar, who controls the country’s shuttered oil fields and had set off the fighting last year when he tried to take the capital.
“Every call for a truce, even when it’s accepted by both sides, seems to inevitably lead to an escalation, both by the parties on the ground but also foreign sponsors,” Williams said.