The United Nations condemned an attack against Jalaa Hospital for Women and Childbirth in Tripoli by armed groups in which a doctor was shot and staff were threatened, prompting a three-day halt of all non-emergency medical services, the UNSMIL mission to Libya said late on Monday.
Persistent violence against medical facilities; including shelling and bombing of hospitals, attacking and intimidating medical staff, looting of medicine, equipment and ambulances, and clashes inside hospitals – all committed with impunity by armed groups - must stop immediately, the UNSMIL statement said.
"The health system of Libya is already under-resourced and overstretched, these attacks are costing lives of innocent patients and staff alike," the statement underlined.
Attacks against medical facilities and health care providers are prohibited under International Humanitarian Law and those responsible must be brought to justice for what may amount to war crimes, under the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court, the statement warned.
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