Battle rages on

Libya’s UN-backed government says 21 people have been killed and 27 wounded in fighting near the capital, Tripoli. Earlier the UN appealed for a two-hour truce so casualties and civilians could be evacuated, but fighting continued. Rebel forces under Gen Khalifa Haftar have advanced from the east with the aim of taking Tripoli. Prime Minister Fayez Al Serraj has accused him of attempting a coup and says rebels will be met with force.

Among the dead was a Red Crescent doctor killed on Saturday. Gen Haftar’s forces said they had lost 14 fighters. International powers have begun evacuating personnel from Libya amid the worsening security situation. Libya has been torn by violence and political instability since long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011.

Gen Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) forces have been carrying out a multi-pronged attack from the south and west of the city since Thursday. The UN said its call for a humanitarian truce had been ignored and emergency services said they had not been able to enter the areas where fighting was taking place.