The Libyan National Army (LNA) urged its troops engaged in Tripoli clashes to battle harder and teach their enemies an even bigger lesson, Reuters reported.
LNA Commander Khalifa Haftar was quoted as saying that soldiers should fight harder because the Muslim month of Ramadan which begins on Monday is a month of holy war.
“Officers and soldiers in our armed forces and the auxiliary forces, I salute you in these glorious days and urge you with your strength and determination to teach the enemy a greater and bigger lesson than the previous ones, as we’ve always known you to do, till we uproot them from our beloved land,” Haftar said.
“Our battles against terrorism in Benghazi and Derna did not stop in the holy month of Ramadan but we increased our determination and strength in this holy month,” he added.
Haftar’s orders came just hours after the United Nations called for a week-long humanitarian truce following a month of fighting for the capital that has displaced 50,000 people, killed around 400, and badly damaged some southern districts.
Furthermore, Haftar had already defied the UN when he launched his Tripoli offensive a month ago on the same day UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres was visiting the capital to prepare a national reconciliation conference.
Violence has erupted in Libya since 2011, when a popular uprising ended with the ousting and death of former President Muammar Gaddafi. Since then, the country has been managed by rival governments and parliaments in the west and east.
