The Libyan crisis could be solved politically rather than military but as long as commander Khalifa Haftar continues to target civilian settlements, talks for a solution and negotiations could not continue, Sarraj told reporters in Tripoli. And he characterized as “war crimes” the warlord’s recent attacks targeting civilians, Anadolu Agency reported.

At least 30 people were killed and 33 injured Jan. 5 when Haftar’s forces launched an airstrike on the dormitory of a military school in Tripoli, mainly targeting students.

Since the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: Haftar in eastern Libya, supported mainly by Egypt and the UAE, and the GNA in Tripoli, which enjoys the UN and international recognition.

Libya’s government has been under attack by Haftar since last April, with more than 1,000 lives lost in the violence.

Warring parties announced a cease-fire Jan. 12 in response to a joint call by Turkey and Russia. However, talks for a permanent cease-fire ended without an agreement after Haftar left Moscow on Jan. 14 without signing a deal.

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Rebel commander Khalifa Haftar held a meeting with Christophe Farno, the director of the Middle East and North Africa Department at the French Foreign Ministry, in the eastern city of Benghazi on Wednesday, when Farno conveyed the invitation to the rebel commander.

The invitation came on the same day that Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj ­— the head of the Tripoli-based government — called on the international community to ensure that the agreement reached at a conference for Libyan peace last month was respected.

On January 19, leaders from Turkey, Russia, Egypt, France, Italy, Britain, and the United States, as well as Sarraj and Haftar, attended the UN-backed summit in Berlin to help establish a “permanent” ceasefire between the warring sides.

The final communiqué of the day-long summit urged all the parties concerned in the persisting conflict “to redouble their efforts for a sustained suspension of hostilities, de-escalation and a permanent ceasefire.”

Furthermore, the participants of the summit pledged not to interfere in Libya’s internal affairs and its deadly conflict.

France has supported Haftar in the past along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates because it is believed to be relying on oil imports from the regions under his control. The Haftar-led rebel groups and militia forces have almost two-thirds of the country and all oilfields under their control.

Paris is also adamant about maintaining its foothold in the African continent, even in the countries that gained independence from France almost six decades ago.

France played the leading role in a military campaign by NATO that led to the ouster of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and plunged the country into the current crisis.

Libya has since then been divided between two rival camps, the internationally recognized government in the capital, Tripoli, and a camp based in the eastern city of Tobruk, which is militarily supported by Haftar’s rebels.

Haftar launched a deadly campaign to conquer Tripoli — the seat of the GNA — on April 4 last year. His forces have been bogged down near the capital.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the fighting has so far killed at least 264 people and wounded more than 1,200 others. Libyan officials say Haftar’s forces have attacked residential areas as well.

France has also blocked resolutions at the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, and other international organizations opposing Haftar’s offensive.

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Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) on Sunday began moving from the central city of Sirte towards Misrata, which is loyal to Libya’s United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and endangers the truce pact made earlier.

Fighting between the LNA and forces from Misrata was centered on the town of Abugrain, 120 kilometers (74 miles) east of Misrata, the agency cited both sides as saying.

Two LNA fighters were killed and eight were wounded, an LNA source said, adding that the forces later retreated taking some prisoners.

“Battles are raging on all front lines,” LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari told reporters in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Haftar’s LNA is being backed by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, while the GNA receives support from Turkey.

Also on Sunday, Tripoli’s Mitiga airport, the capital’s only functioning air terminal, was hit by two rockets, said the UN mission to Libya UNSMIL.

The attack wounded two civilians and damaged the tarmac and buildings at the facility — which is used for the launch of Ankara-supplied combat drones, it added.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile, said during a visit to neighboring Algeria that Haftar could not be expected to respect the ceasefire that was brokered by Turkey and Russia in Berlin on January 12.

He also claimed during a press conference with his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune that Ankara was resolutely standing by the Libyan people in their hour of need, Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu reported. ”We are determined to stand by our Libyan brothers,” Erdogan said.

The LNA spokesman, however, blamed Erdogan, who has been dispatching troops to shore up the UN-backed government, for the flare-up.

The UN mission also sounded a note of caution that “over the last 10 days, numerous cargo and other flights have been observed landing at Libyan airports in the western and eastern parts of the country, providing the parties with advanced weapons, armored vehicles, advisers, and fighters.”

Libya has been mired in chaos since a 2011 uprising that was being backed by the Western military alliance of NATO killed longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

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