"I want to reassure the Libyans that the @UN will not leave them by themselves & will stay in #Libya, working towards a political solution, silencing the guns & a peaceful political understanding between the various parties", Salame said after his meeting with the head of the Government of National Accord, Fayez Sarraj, as quoted by UN Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Twitter.
The statement comes after LNA spokesman Ahmed Al-Mismari said on 5 April that Haftar's army was carrying out an offensive on Tripoli in several directions at once but has not yet entered the capital. He stated that he could not yet name the date of the end of the operation, but confirmed that the offensive would continue until all objectives were achieved.
READ MORE: Russia Concerned Over Use of Combat Aircraft by Armed Groups in Libya
G7 Urges Libyan Conflicting Parties to Avoid Using Oil Facilities for Political Purposes
Meanwhile, the G7’s foreign ministers said on Saturday in a communique following their talks in France's Dinard and Saint-Malo stated that oil facilities and production in Libya should not be used by parties to the conflict for political purposes.
"We recall that Libya's oil facilities, production, and revenues belong to the Libyan people, and must not be used by any party for political gain," the communique says.
The situation in Libya escalated on 4 April as Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, commander of forces loyal to East Libya-based government, ordered an offensive to retake Tripoli from the forces of the UN-backed GNA. The LNA has already recaptured a number of settlements on its way to the capital, while the leader of Libya's UN-backed government Sarraj has ordered its troops to use force if necessary.
The escalation caught UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on his trip to Libya as part of the UN-led efforts to boost the political settlement of the Libyan conflict. On Friday, Guterres met with Haftar and then left Libya.
