The divided UN Security Council on Wednesday failed to condemn a deadly attack on a detention center for migrants in Libya after the United States did not endorse a proposed statement, diplomats said.
During a two-hour closed-door meeting, Britain circulated a statement that would have condemned the air strike, called for a ceasefire and a return to political talks.
Fayez al-Sarraj’s Government of National Accord and the Libyan National Army of Khalifa Haftar traded blame on the attack.
US diplomats told the Security Council meeting that they required a green light from Washington to approve the text and the talks ended without US approval, sources told AFP.
At least 46 people were killed when the air strike hit the Tajoura detention center late Tuesday and more than 88 were wounded, a local official told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Peru's Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadro, whose country holds the council presidency, told reporters that discussions were continuing on the press statement but council diplomats said they did not expect a response.
The proposed statement would have called on warring sides to "immediately de-escalate the situation and commit to a ceasefire".
A US State Department statement released in Washington earlier condemned the "abhorrent" air strike but did not call for a ceasefire.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was outraged and called for an independent investigation into the deadly strike.
He recalled that the United Nations had shared the coordinates of the detention center with the warring sides to ensure that civilians sheltering there were safe.
UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame said the "attack clearly could constitute a war crime, as it killed by surprise innocent people whose dire conditions forced them to be in that shelter."
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet also said the strike "may, depending on the precise circumstances, amount to a war crime."
The UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) condemned the attack on Tajouraa and called for an independent probe.
The European Union -- echoing many countries and international organizations -- did the same.
"Those responsible should be held to account", an EU statement said.
