More than 16,000 Libyans are reported to have fled in recent days. Government forces launched an operation on Saturday to retake the city of Sirte, the day when the leader of rival forces, Khalifa Haftar, said he was in favor of a ceasefire starting Monday. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi had called for "respect for international efforts" and proposed a ceasefire starting at 6 a.m. local time. The UN is in turn calling for weapons to cease in order to give peace a chance.

For the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), in the war that today opposes the troops of the Libyan Government of National Accord to those of Marshal Haftar, "there can be no true victor, only heavy losses" for a people who have suffered from the conflict for more than nine years.

But most troubling, UNSMIL points out, is information reporting the discovery of "a number of bodies" at the Tarhouna hospital. The UN is calling on the authorities of the Libyan Government of National Accord to conduct a swift and impartial investigation into these suspicious deaths as well as into numerous reports of looting and destruction of public and private property in Tarhouna and Alasabaa which, in some cases, the UN further specifies, "appear to be acts of retaliation and revenge".

In light of these events, UNSMIL reminds all parties of the need to respect the rule of law, human rights, and humanitarian law. And "for talks to resume seriously", UNSMIL insists that "weapons must fall silent".