Western Powers, UN Express Concern over Intensifying Tripoli Fighting

A member of the LNA heads out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, Libya, April 7, 2019. (Reuters)
A member of the LNA heads out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, Libya, April 7, 2019. (Reuters)
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Western Powers, UN Express Concern over Intensifying Tripoli Fighting

A member of the LNA heads out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, Libya, April 7, 2019. (Reuters)
A member of the LNA heads out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, Libya, April 7, 2019. (Reuters)

The United States voiced on Sunday its “deep” concern over the fighting near Tripoli as the Libyan National Army (LNA) of commander Khalifa Haftar marched on the capital.

“We have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by LNA forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

He added that all parties involved have a responsibility to de-escalate the situation as announced by the UN Security Council and G7 group last week.

He urged Libyan factions to return to negotiations, saying that "there is no military solution to the Libya conflict."

The fighting has taken the United Nations by surprise and undermined plans to hold a national conference aimed at reaching agreement on a roadmap for elections to resolve the protracted instability in Libya.

UN envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, said the organization is determined to hold the planned conference on April 14-16.

The LNA announced its march west last week to eliminate remaining terrorist and criminal gangs from the region.

The United Nations said Monday 2,800 people had been displaced by clashes and many more could flee, though some were trapped.

LNA forces carried out air strikes on southern Tripoli on Sunday and made progress toward the city center, residents said.

The European Union joined the United Nations, United States and G7 bloc in calling for a ceasefire, a halt to Haftar's advance and return to political negotiations.

France said it had no prior warning of his push for Tripoli and denied it was secretly undermining the peace process, a diplomatic source said, according to Reuters.

A contingent of US forces evacuated at the weekend.

Forces with the Tripoli’s Government of National Accord have announced an operation to defend the capital called "Volcano of Anger".

Allied groups from Misrata along the coast have been moving pickup trucks fitted with machine guns into Tripoli.



Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.