Panafrican News Agency

UN to investigate attack that killed three UNSMIL staff in Benghazi

Tripoli, Libya (PANA)- The United Nations is considering an internal investigation on the circumstances of an attack on a convoy of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Saturday in Benghazi in which three of its members were killed and two others injured, the UN Secretary-General's spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.

On Saturday, a bomb targeting a UNUMIL convoy exploded outside a shopping mall in the al-Hawari region of Benghazi killing five people, including three UN staff members -- Hussein al-Haddar of Libya, Seniloli Tabuatosole, Fijian, and Clive Beck from Jamaica.

Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "condemned in the strongest terms the car bomb attack in Benghazi on 10 August 2019", expressing his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishing a prompt and complete recovery to those injured, Libyan newspapers reported on Thursday.

"We are not aware of any claim of responsibility for the car bomb," he said. "We will try to determine the facts behind the incident, including through an internal investigation," Dujarric said, noting that the Security Council strongly condemned the attack at an emergency meeting on 10 August.

"The United Nations reaffirms that lasting peace and stability in Libya, including an end to the worsening humanitarian crisis, can only be achieved through a political solution and that the parties must engage in dialogue without delay," he said, adding that "the United Nations will continue to prepare to facilitate this dialogue between Libyans".

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya announced the death of three staff members and two others injured when a car bomb exploded outside a shopping mall in the al-Hawari district in Benghazi.

The UN Envoy and Head of Mission in Libya, Ghassan Salamé, stressed in response to the attack that "this attack will not deter us and will not prevent us from continuing our duty and working for the peace, stability and prosperity of Libya and its people."

-0- PANA BY/TBM/BBA/AR 15Aug2019