Ships had to be moved to avoid forest from oil storage tanks set ablaze.

Relief at yesterday’s resumption of peace talks on Libya quickly turned to frustration as news of the rocket attack on the Tripoli port reached Geneva.

The Government of National Accord walked out until, it said, a firm position is adopted against the aggressor and violence.

No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack but the government is blaming Russian-backed rebel leader Khalifa Haftar.

UN special envoy on Libya Ghassan Salame says he’s confident the peace talks can be rescued. 

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As more details follow the international condemnation of the air strike on migrants being held in Libya, it has emerged that guards fired on refugees trying to escape the carnage.

At least 170 people have been hurt in what UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame says is probably a war crime.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has deplored the attack and called for an independent investigation with a view to bringing the culprits to book.

Militia fighting for warlord Khalifa Hafar have been blamed for the incident.

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UN envoy Ghassan Salame says the attack that wounded more than 80 people could constitute a war crime.

Britain moved to condemn the air strike blamed on warlord Khalifa Haftar’s self styled Libyan National Army who have threatened to increase air strikes on the capital Tripoli.

But the United States requires approval from Washington before being able to sign the declaration.

United Nations High Commission for Refugees spokesman Charlie Yaxley calls for immediate action.

“We have to see a change now. There has to be an immediate release from all the refugees detained in these centres in Libya and we have to make sure that no rescued refugee, rescued from the central Mediterranean, is taken back to Libya,” he says

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is outraged at the attack and calls for an independent investigation to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice

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UN envoy Ghassan Salame says the attack that wounded more than 80 people could constitute a war crime.

Warlord Khalifa Haftar’s self styled Libyan National Army, that threatened to increase air strikes on the capital, now denies that it hit the migrant detention centre.

The attack has put the spotlight on the European Union’s deal with Libya militia to take African migrants turned back from trying to cross the Mediterranean into Europe.

United Nations High Commission for Refugees spokesman Charlie Yaxley says the safety of migrants is paramount.

“We have to see a change now. There has to be an immediate release of all the detainees in these centers and we have to make sure that no rescued refugees rescued on the Mediterranean are taken to Libya,” he says.

Migrants returned to Libya are kept in appalling conditions and often fall prey to traffickers.

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The United Nations is still urging Libyans to go the polls in the first half of next year.

It was France that pushed the disparate Libyan factions to agree to presidential and parliamentary elections on December 10.

Now reconciliation has trumped voting as warring militia step their fighting that been raging since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gadaffi.

The UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame says there must be a national conference to discuss the conflict before an election can be held.

He tells the United Nations Security Council this could take place in the first weeks of 2019 with elections following in the northern hemisphere spring.

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This is a success for French President Emmanuel Macron’s mediation efforts.

United Nations envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame praises what he calls yesterday’s historic meeting in Paris. At a news conference announcing agreement on a roadmap to elections he says they’re not speaking in place of the Libyans. It’s the Libyans who agree all together in their presence. This is crucial.

Salame maintains  he has never seen such convergence between the Libyan popular will and the international will.

Some 20 countries and several international organizations attended the conference, which was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Salame says setting a constitutional basis for the parliamentary and presidential elections will require either a constitutional referendum or passage of an electoral law.

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