[JURIST] The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) [official website] on Sunday released a statement [press release] strongly condemning Saturday’s military escalation in Benghazi. In its statement, the mission expressed that developments on the ground in Libya over the last year have “clearly shown that a military solution is not a viable option in Libya.” UNSMIL also said that the airstrikes the area faces a clear attempt to derail ongoing efforts to end conflict in the area, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Benghazi and across the country. The mission urged officials to use their influence to deescalate the conflict, calling the dialogue process and political settlement the only way to bring an end to suffering and violence in the area.

The Libyan conflict [JURIST backgrounder] has seen the country besieged by violence and destruction. In July the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya, Bernardino León, condemned [UN news report] the escalating hostilities in the country’s eastern city of Benghazi and the heavy toll being felt by the area’s civilians. Mr. León, who also heads the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), deplored the repeated shelling of residential areas in the city while reiterating his belief that “there can be no military solution to the conflict.” In May the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) urged [JURIST report] the UN Security Council to take action to strengthen the deteriorating security situation in Libya. In April UNSMIL strongly condemned [JURIST report] the continuous airstrikes on the town of Zintan, noting a high danger to civilians. In March UNSMIL had warned the Security Council that the situation in Libya was deteriorating [JURIST report] and the country would likely become unstable without international intervention. In January an Amnesty International report called on the UN Security Council to impose sanctions [JURIST report] and encourage accountability through International Criminal Court (ICC) indictments and prosecutions to end the cycle of human rights violations and war crimes being committed in Libya. The report focused in particular on the situation in Benghazi.