Fighting between the Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar and Fayez al-Sarraj’s Government of National Accord continued on Friday despite a call by the European Union for a ceasefire and its backing for UN envoy Ghassan Salame’s proposal for truce.
The LNA said it has made huge advances in several Tripoli’s battlefronts, leaving around 25 militias, backed by the GNA, dead.
It accused the militias of randomly targeting civilian areas, mainly in al-Hadaba, with grenades, in confirmation of a report by Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday.
Haftar's forces launched an offensive in April to try to wrest Tripoli from forces backing the GNA.
The EU called Friday on Libya's warring sides to establish a permanent truce and return to UN-led talks to prepare for quick elections.
"The European Union and its member states are united in demanding that all Libyan parties commit to a permanent ceasefire," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.
The EU also urged the parties to return to a UN-brokered political process, Mogherini said in a statement issued in Brussels.
The EU and its 28 countries, she said, welcome Salame's ceasefire proposal for the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday as well as his call to relaunch negotiations.
Meanwhile, Haftar arrived in Cairo on Friday at the head of an LNA delegation.
He is expected to hold talks with top Egyptian officials on the latest developments in Libya and ways to confront terrorist organizations.
The talks are also set to focus on Egyptian-Libyan border cooperation and efforts to stop infiltration of terrorist elements or migrants.
