Credit: Wikipedia Commons  /  First demonstrations calling for the downfall of the regime in Badya Libya. During the demonstration, burning a police car, at the crossroads of At-Talhi, now known as the crossroads of the spark, on 2011-02-16.

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED  NATIONS   –   NEW YORK –  A car bomb attack Saturday in front of a shopping mall in the Libyan city of Benghazi left three United Nations workers dead, and three others injured, with dozens of civilians also wounded, the UN reported.   According to a statement from the UN Special Representative for Libya, Ghassan Salame, the staff members who died and were injured served with the UN Support Mission in the country, UNSMIL, which he heads.

“The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the car bomb attack today in Benghazi, Libya. Three United Nations colleagues were killed in the bombing and three others are among the injured. The Secretary-General extends his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wishes a swift recovery to all the injured. He calls on the Libyan authorities to spare no effort in identifying and swiftly bringing to justice the perpetrators of this attack. The Secretary-General calls on all parties to respect the humanitarian truce during Eid al Adha and return to the negotiating table to pursue the peaceful future the people of Libya deserve.”

-Stephane Dujarric ,  Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres Aug. 10, 2019

Security Council Meets in Emergency Session On Libya Situation Following Deadly Attack

Credit: Gary Raynaldo  /  Media area outside United Nations Security  Council chamber at UN world headquarters in New York.

The UN Security Council convened an emergency session in New York the afternoon of Saturday August 10   to discuss the latest developments impacting the war-torn north African nation.  The UN has been attempting to broker a truce in fighting which erupted following a major assault in April on the southern outskirts of the capital Tripoli by the forces of the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) and forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord.

Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider / The Security Council Observes a Moment of Silence during an emergency meeting Aug. 10, 2019, on the situation in Libya, convened after a car bomb attack in Benghazi killed three United Nations staff members and injured two others, among scores of injured Libyan nationals.

The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Bintou Keita, briefed the Council late on Saturday afternoon in New York, saying that the attack “serves to highlight the continued danger of terrorism across the country, and the limits of effective security control in the absence of one Government and one military, and police force, working across the country.”

Keita: Positive that Prime Minister Serraj and General Haftar’s LNA have agreed to @GhassanSalame’s call for a truce for Eid al Adha in #Libya, to begin tonight. Hope both sides will genuinely abide, in good faith, to their public commitment. https://t.co/v8vRyXUOFU pic.twitter.com/uXmU4ixx7z

— UN Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (@UNDPPA) August 10, 2019