The Libyan capital Tripoli is witnessing a state of cautious calm on the first day of Ramadan, following a UN call for a humanitarian truce during the holy month.

Libya’s prime minister will tour Europe to seek support against rogue general Khalifa Haftar, the country’s internationally-recognised government said on Monday. Haftar, who is currently leading an assault on Tripoli, has urged his troops to “wipe out” government forces.

Khalifa Haftar’s Dignity Operation command has issued a statement threatening to punish all journalists, media figures, activists and political analysts who oppose its offensive against Tripoli, describing them as “inciting hate and crime against the army forces and supporting terrorism.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently put Russia in the spotlight in Libya by first holding a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Summit in Beijing and later discussing Libya with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the phone. Conte reportedly proposed his Russian counterpart …

Media outlets earlier reported that Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar had ordered Libyan National Army (LNA) forces to chase and destroy enemy troops.

Eastern Libyan forces commander Khalifa Haftar urged his troops trying to take Tripoli to battle harder and teach their enemies an even bigger lesson, because the Muslim month of Ramadan that begins on Monday was a month of holy war.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian dismissed Thursday accusations by the Tripoli-based government that Paris was supporting Khalifa Haftar in his current offensive.

Open-source monitoring of air traffic has shown an increase in flights by surveillance aircraft operating by NATO members over the central Mediterranean, specifically Libya, in ladt April, IHS Jane’s website has reported. 

At least 187 have been killed and 1157 wounded, mostly civilians, since the start of the aggression on Tripoli, the Health Ministry confirmed.

Spokesperson for the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), Mohamed Gnounou, stressed on Thursday that Tripoli has reactivated old agreements with Turkey regarding military cooperation.