Over 90,000 displaced in Libya due to fighting in Tripoli: UN

More than 90,000 people have been displaced in Libya since April as a result of the armed conflict between Khalifa Haftar's army and UN-backed government forces in capital Tripoli, United Nations said on Friday.

Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a press briefing here that over than 8000 people were displaced this week alone. Half of them are believed to be children.

"Aid workers continue to provide assistance to the internally displaced and to other vulnerable people impacted by the hostilities, with more than 47,000 people in Tripoli and surrounding areas having received help to date," Xinhua quoted Haq as saying.

According to a recent report by the World Health Organisation, more than 390 people have lost their lives and over 1,900 others wounded since the fighting began on April 12.

Libya has been largely divided into two factions ever since the death of its dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The LNA-backed parliament controls the east of Libya, while the UN-backed interim Government of National Accord (GNA) governs Libya's western region from Tripoli.

While the US government has primarily backed the GNA which is led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, American diplomats and military officers have maintained contacts with Russia backed Haftar.

Most of the international community has urged for a peaceful resolution to the intense fighting which has ensued in the African nation.