The deadly conflict gripping chaos-stricken Libya cannot be brought to an end by military means, Italy's populist premier Giuseppe Conte underlined on Friday, saying that "violence only breeds violence".
"I am working towards a ceasefire," Conte said, recalling that he held talks in Rome on Thursday with Libya's eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar, whose forces began an assault on Tripoli last month.
"Yesterday, I met General Haftar at the prime minister's office and repeated to him that military force is not an option," he said.
"Violence only breeds violence," said Conte during a visit to the Rondine Cittadella della Pace cultural association near Arezzo in central Italy, which seeks to foster pacificism and solidarity in young people.
A military escalation in Tripoli began when Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army entered the capital on 5 April and met with resistance from forces loyal to the beleaguered UN-backed government.
The warfare, including airstrikes and shelling, has killed at least 454 people, injured at least 2,154 and displaced some 60,000, the UN said in its most recent update six days ago.
