Fighting in Tripoli shutters 210 schools for 115,000 Children: UN

More than 200 schools remain closed in and near the Libyan capital of Tripoli due to fighting between government and rebel forces, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a press release on Monday.

"The recent escalation of violence in and around Tripoli has taken a devastating toll on children's education, with five schools destroyed and 210 schools shuttered, pushing over 115,000 children out of school in the Ain-Zara, Abu Salim and Soug al Juma'aa areas," the release said.

UNICEF's comments came on a day when Turkey announced the deployment of troops to protect Libya's internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in the capital from forces led by General Khalifa Haftar, who is aligned with a rival government in the nation's east.

Haftar controls much of northern Libya while the GNA's control is limited to the capital and surrounding neighbourhoods.

Libya has been wracked by fighting among rival groups since the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi by US-and French-supported Islamic extremists.