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Far from paralyzing it, the coronavirus has intensified the war in Libya . The militias of the Government of National Accord (based in Tripoli, recognized by the international community and whose initials in English are GNA) and the Libyan National Army (the forces commanded by Marshal Jalifa Haftar, 'strong man' of the east of the country that disputes the power to the GNA) take advantage of the health crisis to gain positions and advance on the war fronts.

The situation is so serious that the United Nations has denounced that Libya is becoming an "experimental field of all kinds of new weapons systems" , with foreign powers giving military and financial support to the warring factions and sending arms and fighters despite the embargo. relaunched at the Berlin Conference on January 19.

When a year has passed since Haftar began his offensive against Tripoli, in recent weeks the race has escalated sharply with a new impetus to fighting on the western fronts of the country, despite urgent calls from the international community - and his failed attempts - to impose a ceasefire in order to stop the spread of Covid-19. Libya is a particularly vulnerable country in the context of the pandemic , as nine years of war have left health services dying, lacking funds to buy supplies and medicines and poorly equipped.

So far, only one death has been reported (an 85-year-old woman) and 60 cases of contagion are counted. But it must be borne in mind that the figures do not reflect reality in a country at war where the government recognized by the UN is weak and has little presence beyond Tripoli and where there is hardly any information in the regions under the control of rival factions. In the area under the power of the GNA, the confinement, which was barely carried out, has given way to a curfew from 18:00 to 6:00 hours for 10 days.

Before the emergence of the coronavirus, one million people required assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In Tripoli alone, with 150,000 displaced by the fighting, 13 health centers were closed before Covid-19 and half a million people were in urgent need of medical help , according to UN figures.

"The Libyan healthcare system was already struggling before Covid-19," says Willem de Jonge, the ICRC's chief operations officer in Libya . "Today, some physicians in need of training in coronavirus infection prevention protocols continue to be called to the front line to treat the wounded. Clinics and hospitals are overwhelmed with caring for war-wounded and disease-stricken chronic, so their capacity to receive patients from Covid-19 is limited. They need more support and resources to face this challenge, "he adds.

To this is added that the violent combats have caused new waves of displaced people , who survive in appalling conditions. "We are simply seeing how a nation is being decimated," Jalel Harchauoui of the Clingendael Institute in The Hague tells Afp. For this expert, the pandemic "has exacerbated this escalation" of war, taking advantage of the fact that the international community has its eyes on the health crisis.

While the virus could be running like wildfire, the artillery rages. Libya is a testing ground. "In some suburbs of Tripoli, an RPO-A flamethrower is being used, with a type of thermobaric system. We have seen drones have arrived, including a type of suicide drone that explodes on impact," the special envoy said on Wednesday. UN functions for Libya, Stephanie Williams. "They are just two examples of the terrifying systems being deployed in urban areas, which is completely unacceptable," he added.

Nerve gas

Alarms have been triggered after the GNA announced that it investigates a possible chemical weapons attack on its forces. The Interior Minister of the Tripoli Executive, Fathi Bashagha, investigates reports of fighters who have been affected by nervous gas in the capital area of ​​Salahadin, based on preliminary data reported by field hospitals, as reported by the Reuters agency.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman, Ahmed al Mismari, reacted to this announcement, saying that it is "rumors and lies". Al Mismari has accused the GNA of "war crimes" committed by its militias in the assault last week of the cities of Surman and Sabrata, hitherto held by the LNA.

Williams replied that these are "very, very troubling reports", before making a new call for a ceasefire and for the arms embargo to be respected: "The UN calls on all those who are violating the embargo, including those countries who sat at the table in Berlin and signed it, to be respected. " Without naming them, it refers to the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt, which support Haftar, and Turkey and Qatar, the main backers of the GNA . Earlier this year, Ankara approved the dispatch of hundreds of fighters to Libya to counter Russian mercenaries fighting on the side of the rogue marshal. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), some 6,000 Syrian militiamen are fighting in the trenches of the GNA.

Unable to name a new special envoy after the resignation of Ghassan Salameh in March, the UN voice has been drowned out by the bombings. Haftar's forces have continued to harass the capital, while the GNA has launched an offensive to push back its enemy. Last week, the hosts of Tripoli captured several towns in the northwest and turned their progress towards Tarhuna , a strategic center in the hands of the marshal. The objective of the government backed by the international community is to expel Haftar from Tarhuna, some 65 kilometers from the capital, which would stop the LNA's challenge. "If we enter Tarhuna, although it is the most difficult military option, we believe that the conflict could be stopped because no other city in western Libya is the center of Haftar's forces," said Minister Bashagha.

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