UN Security Council calls for ceasefire in Libya as death toll crosses 1000

The United Nations Security Council has called for a ceasefire in Libya as the death toll from a three-month offensive on Tripoli reached 1,000.

The 15-member body issued a joint statement on Friday, saying, "The members of the Security Council stressed the need for all parties to urgently de-escalate the situation and to commit to a ceasefire."

"Lasting peace and stability in Libya will come only through a political solution," the statement read.

The UN body also called on the parties to rapidly return to UN-mediated political talks, and urged other countries not to intervene or exacerbate conflict in Libya, which has been wracked by chaos since the NATO-backed overthrow of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Al Jazeera reported.

The World Health Orgsation on Friday said that over 1000 people have been killed and 5000 people wounded in Libya since the beginning of the armed conflict between Khalifa Haftar-led Libyan National Army (LNA) and UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).

The statement was spurred by Tuesday night's raid on the detention centre in Tajoura, which the council said killed 53 people and wounded more than 130. The International Orgzation for Migration said on Friday that six children were among those killed.

"The casualties of this week's attack on a migrant centre in Tajoura are 53 dead and 130 injured, making the overall toll of the Tripoli conflict nearly 1000 dead and more than 5000 wounded. WHO urges a rapid and peaceful solution so that all people in Libya are safe from harm," The World Health Orgsation in Libya wrote on Twitter.

Shortly after Haftar began his offensive, the United States and Russia had informed the Council that they could not support a resolution that would have called for a ceasefire in Libya

The renewed conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, spur migration across the Mediterranean to Europe, and create a security void that armed groups could fill.

( With inputs from ANI )