Libya’s internationally recognised government has said it is suspending its participation in ceasefire negotiations hosted by the United Nations in Geneva, hours after an attack by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar’s forces on the capital’s port.
In a statement late on Tuesday, the presidential council of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) said it would respond firmly to the attack at the appropriate time.
Earlier in the day, representatives of the GNA and Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), which launched a military offensive in April last year to seize Tripoli, had resumed indirect talks aimed at establishing a lasting ceasefire.
Footage shared online showed thick black smoke rising from the port, a major gateway for food, fuel, wheat and other imports.