Strongly condemning attacks in Sirte by the so-called Islamic State (Daesh), the United Nations Support Mission in Libya stressed today it is "high time" that Libyans agree a unity government to address the country’s challenges and "join together to confront the scourge" of the group, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.

In a statement the UN Mission, known as UNSMIL, deplored the attacks in the coastal city of Sirte, including reports of indiscriminate shelling of residential neighbourhoods and the killing of captives the terrorist group has controlled since May.

"At a time when Libyan key political stakeholders gathered in Geneva for a dialogue to resolve the country’s crisis and send a strong message of unity, the terrorist group once again struck to impose its reign of terror," said the statement.

The latest round of UN-sponsored political talks just wrapped up in the Swiss city and UNSMIL has reported that the participants "reiterated their conviction that there can be no alternative to peace in Libya outside this dialogue process, which sets the framework for a comprehensive political settlement that is achieved through consensus."

According to news reports, the latest spate of violence in Sirte erupted this past Tuesday and has continued throughout the week, leaving dozens of casualties.

Adapted from the UN

Photo: IRIN