UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and Russia both said on Thursday they could not support a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time, diplomats said, as mortar bombs crashed down on a suburb of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

Russia objects to the British-drafted resolution blaming eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar for the latest flare-up in violence when his Libyan National Army (LNA) advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli earlier this month, diplomats said.

The United States gave no reason for its position on the draft resolution, which would also call on countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance and for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya, which has been gripped by anarchy since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

The United States’ U.N. mission declined to comment and the Russian U.N. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, Russia or China - the so-called permanent five - to pass. It was not immediately clear if Britain would persist with negotiations on a draft next week.

The United States and Russia made their positions clear during a closed-door council briefing by U.N. Libya envoy Ghassan Salame, who diplomats said appealed for a ceasefire, warning that weapons were pouring into the country and it was heading toward a serious humanitarian situation.

The U.S. reluctance to support Security Council action is in contrast to Washington’s earlier public opposition to Haftar’s offensive, which began while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting Tripoli.

Some U.N. diplomats have suggested the United States might be trying to buy time as President Donald Trump’s administration works out how to deal with the latest developments in Libya.

“I think there are a range of views in Washington on the policy side and they haven’t reconciled them and they’re not entirely certain where the president is on it,” said a senior U.N. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The American system is trying to evaluate all the scenarios and work out which one is in America’s best interest and just hasn’t done that yet,” the diplomat said.

Haftar’s forces predicted victory within days, but Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s internationally recognized government has bogged them down in southern suburbs with help from armed groups from various western Libyan factions.

A united Security Council informally expressed concern on April 5, calling on all forces to de-escalate and halt military activity and specifically calling out the LNA.

In the following days, the council was unable, however, to issue a more formal statement, diplomats said, as Russia objected to a reference to the LNA, while the United States said it could not agree to a text that did not mention Haftar’s forces.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then said in a statement on April 7 that “we have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital.”

Haftar enjoys the backing of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which view him as an anchor to restore stability and combat Islamist militants, while most Western powers have supported Serraj.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke with Pompeo about Libya on Thursday and both agreed on the need for a “rapid” ceasefire and return to the U.N-led political process, the French foreign ministry said in a statement. Paris has given Haftar support in the past. </s> Russia objects to the British-drafted resolution blaming eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar for the latest flare-up in violence when his Libyan National Army (LNA) advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli earlier this month, diplomats said.

The United States and Russia both said on Thursday they could not support a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time, diplomats said, as mortar bombs crashed down on a suburb of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

The United States gave no reason for its position on the draft resolution, which would also call on countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance and for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya, which has been gripped by anarchy since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

The United States' UN mission declined to comment and the Russian U.N. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, Russia or China — the so-called permanent five — to pass. It was not immediately clear if Britain would persist with negotiations on a draft next week.

The United States and Russia made their positions clear during a closed-door council briefing by UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame, who diplomats said appealed for a ceasefire, warning that weapons were pouring into the country and it was heading toward a serious humanitarian situation.

The U.S. reluctance to support Security Council action is in contrast to Washington's earlier public opposition to Haftar's offensive, which began while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting Tripoli.

Some UN diplomats have suggested the United States might be trying to buy time as President Donald Trump's administration works out how to deal with the latest developments in Libya.

"I think there are a range of views in Washington on the policy side and they haven't reconciled them and they're not entirely certain where the president is on it," said a senior UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The American system is trying to evaluate all the scenarios and work out which one is in America's best interest and just hasn't done that yet," the diplomat said.

Concern

Haftar's forces predicted victory within days, but Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's internationally recognized government has bogged them down in southern suburbs with help from armed groups from various western Libyan factions.

A united Security Council informally expressed concern on April 5, calling on all forces to de-escalate and halt military activity and specifically calling out the LNA.

In the following days, the council was unable, however, to issue a more formal statement, diplomats said, as Russia objected to a reference to the LNA, while the United States said it could not agree to a text that did not mention Haftar's forces.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then said in a statement on April 7 that "we have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar's forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital."

Haftar enjoys the backing of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which view him as an anchor to restore stability and combat Islamist militants, while most Western powers have supported Serraj.

Trump met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on April 9.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke with Pompeo about Libya on Thursday and both agreed on the need for a "rapid" ceasefire and return to the U.N-led political process, the French foreign ministry said in a statement. Paris has given Haftar support in the past. </s> The United States and Russia both said on Thursday they could not support a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time, diplomats said, as mortar bombs crashed down on a suburb of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

Russia objects to the British-drafted resolution blaming eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar for the latest flare-up in violence when his Libyan National Army (LNA) advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli earlier this month, diplomats said.

The United States gave no reason for its position on the draft resolution, which would also call on countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance and for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya. The United States’ UN mission declined to comment and the Russian UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, Russia or China – the so-called permanent five – to pass. It was not immediately clear if Britain would persist with negotiations on a draft next week.

The United States and Russia made their positions clear during a closed-door council briefing by UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame, who diplomats said appealed for a ceasefire, warning that weapons were pouring into the country and it was heading toward a serious humanitarian situation.

The US reluctance to support Security Council action is in contrast to Washington’s earlier public opposition to Haftar’s offensive, which began while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting Tripoli.

Some UN diplomats have suggested the United States might be trying to buy time as President Donald Trump’s administration works out how to deal with the latest developments in Libya.

“I think there is a range of views in Washington on the policy side and they haven’t reconciled them and they’re not entirely certain where the president is on it,” said a senior UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The American system is trying to evaluate all the scenarios and work out which one is in America’s best interest and just hasn’t done that yet,” the diplomat said.

Haftar’s forces predicted victory within days, but Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s government has bogged them down in southern suburbs with help from armed groups from various western Libyan factions.

A united Security Council informally expressed concern on April 5, calling on all forces to de-escalate and halt military activity and specifically calling out the LNA.

In the following days, the council was unable, however, to issue a more formal statement, diplomats said, as Russia objected to a reference to the LNA, while the United States said it could not agree to a text that did not mention Haftar’s forces.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then said in a statement on April 7 that “we have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke with Pompeo about Libya on Thursday and both agreed on the need for a “rapid” ceasefire and return to the UN-led political process, the French foreign ministry said in a statement. Paris has given Haftar support in the past. </s> A British bid at the U.N. Security Council to demand a ceasefire in Libya faced opposition Thursday from Russia and the United States, raising doubts about prospects for a draft resolution to halt the bloodshed in Tripoli, diplomats said.

Britain put forward the measure after forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive on April 4 to seize Tripoli, a move that threatened to plunge the north African country into deep turmoil.

During a closed-door council meeting on Thursday, Russia again insisted that there be no references in the draft resolution criticizing Haftar while the United States appealed for more time to weigh its options, diplomats said.

The divisions among world powers deepened as fighting escalated in Tripoli, with the death toll now reaching over 200, while more than 25,000 people have been driven from their homes.

"We want to have this resolution," German Ambassador Christoph Heusgen told reporters after the meeting. "We want to have a strong resolution... with a united council - everybody behind it - that says who is responsible and what needs to be done."

"Not having this now is something that is frustrating," he added.

British Ambassador Karen Pierce said efforts would continue to reach a consensus next week.

U.N. diplomats however raised doubts over whether the council would be able to agree a text, with the U.S. reluctance to take action throwing a new spanner in the works.

There was speculation that President Donald Trump's administration may be consulting Egypt, a strong Haftar ally, and other players in the region, or with the Libyan leaders themselves, on how to address the crisis.

The council heard a briefing by video link from Tripoli by U.N. envoy Ghassan Salame, who raised concerns about the escalation in fighting and weapons flows to Libya.

Haftar, seen by his allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as a bulwark against Islamists, has declared he wants to seize the capital, now controlled by a U.N.-recognized government and an array of militias.

The military commander backs a rival administration based in eastern Libya that is refusing to recognize the authority of the Tripoli government. </s> UNITED NATIONS: Russia on Sunday (Apr 7) blocked a UN Security Council statement that would have called on forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to halt their advance on Tripoli, diplomats said.

Moscow insisted that the formal statement urge all Libyan forces to stop fighting, but the proposed change was opposed by the United States, council diplomats said.

After a closed-door meeting on Friday, the council called on Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army to "halt its military activity" in an agreed statement to the press.

Britain then proposed a more formal text for approval to the 15-member council that was opposed by Russia. All council statements are agreed by consensus.

The proposed statement would have called on Haftar's forces to halt all military activity and for all forces to de-escalate, according to the text seen by AFP.

The draft also would have "called for those who undermine Libya's peace and security to be held to account" and renewed support for a national conference to be held this month on holding elections.

Russia has been a key supporter of Haftar, along with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Fighting raged south of Tripoli on Sunday, three days after Haftar launched the offensive to seize the capital, now controlled by a UN-backed unity government and an array of militias.

The LNA said it had carried out its first air raid on a Tripoli suburb.

The UN mission in Libya called for a two-hour humanitarian pause in the fighting that appeared to have been ignored.

The health ministry in Tripoli said at least 21 people have been killed and 27 wounded in the fighting.

The offensive raised fears of return to all-out war in Libya and left a question mark over the UN-led effort to lay the groundwork for elections with the Apr 14-16 conference.

Libya descended into chaos during the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Ghadaffi that has seen a bitter rivalry emerge between the Tripoli-based authorities and Haftar's supporters in the east of the country. </s> A British bid at the UN Security Council to demand a ceasefire in Libya faced opposition Thursday from Russia and the United States, raising doubts about prospects for a draft resolution to halt the bloodshed in Tripoli, diplomats said.

Britain put forward the measure after forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive on April 4 to seize Tripoli, a move that threatened to plunge the north African country into deep turmoil.

During a closed-door council meeting on Thursday, Russia again insisted that there be no references in the draft resolution criticizing Haftar while the United States appealed for more time to weigh its options, diplomats said.

The divisions among world powers deepened as fighting escalated in Tripoli, with the death toll now reaching over 200, while more than 25,000 people have been driven from their homes.

“We want to have this resolution,” German Ambassador Christoph Heusgen told reporters after the meeting. “We want to have a strong resolution… with a united council – everybody behind it – that says who is responsible and what needs to be done.”

“Not having this now is something that is frustrating,” he added.

UN diplomats however raised doubts over whether the council would be able to agree a text, with the US reluctance to take action throwing a new spanner in the works.

There was speculation that President Donald Trump’s administration may be consulting Egypt, a strong Haftar ally, and other players in the region, or with the Libyan leaders themselves, on how to address the crisis.

The council heard a briefing by video link from Tripoli by UN envoy Ghassan Salame, who raised concerns about the escalation in fighting and weapons flows to Libya.

Haftar, seen by his allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as a bulwark against Islamists, has declared he wants to seize the capital, now controlled by a UN-recognized government and an array of militias.

The military commander backs a rival administration based in eastern Libya that is refusing to recognize the authority of the Tripoli government. </s> Russia on Sunday blocked a UN Security Council statement that would have called on forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to halt their advance on Tripoli, diplomats said.

Moscow insisted that the formal statement urge all Libyan forces to stop fighting, but the proposed change was opposed by the United States, council diplomats said.

After a closed-door meeting on Friday, the council called on Haftar’s self-proclaimed Libyan National Army to “halt its military activity” in an agreed statement to the press.

Britain then proposed a more formal text for approval to the 15-member council that was opposed by Russia. All council statements are agreed by consensus.

The proposed statement would have called on Haftar’s forces to halt all military activity and for all forces to de-escalate, according to the text seen by AFP.

The draft also would have “called for those who undermine Libya’s peace and security to be held to account” and renewed support for a national conference to be held this month on holding elections.

Russia has been a key supporter of Haftar, along with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Fighting raged south of Tripoli on Sunday, three days after Haftar launched the offensive to seize the capital, now controlled by a UN-backed unity government and an array of militias.

The LNA said it had carried out its first air raid on a Tripoli suburb.

The UN mission in Libya called for a two-hour humanitarian pause in the fighting that appeared to have been ignored.

The health ministry in Tripoli said at least 21 people have been killed and 27 wounded in the fighting.

The offensive raised fears of return to all-out war in Libya and left a question mark over the UN-led effort to lay the groundwork for elections with the April 14-16 conference.

Libya descended into chaos during the 2011 overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi that has seen a bitter rivalry emerge between the Tripoli-based authorities and Haftar’s supporters in the east of the country. </s> UNITED NATIONS -- Rival resolutions on Syria backed by the West and Russia were defeated Saturday in the U.N. Security Council, offering no relief to the besieged city of Aleppo and leaving the key powers even more divided over a course of action in the war-ravaged country.

Russia vetoed a French-drafted resolution demanding an immediate halt to the bombing campaign that the Syrian government and Russia are carrying out against rebel-held districts in Aleppo. The rival Russian draft, which made no mention of a bombing halt, was rejected because it failed to get the minimum nine yes votes needed for approval by the 15-member council.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the current rotating council president, said before the votes that members were engaging in "one of the strangest spectacles" in the Security Council, because they were meeting knowing that neither resolution would be adopted.

"This waste of time is inadmissible," he said.

The votes reflected the deep divisions in the U.N.'s most powerful body, which is supposed to ensure international peace and security but has failed to take action to end the more than five-year Syrian conflict.

The French-backed resolution received 11 "yes" votes, two "no" votes from Russia and Venezuela, and abstentions from China and Angola. The Russian resolution received four "yes" votes, nine "no" votes, and two abstentions.

It was the fifth veto by Russia of a Western-backed resolution aimed at ending the Syrian conflict.

The Russian draft resolution called for a separation of moderate and extremist forces in Syria. Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft called the resolution "a sham" that would do nothing to protect civilians from being killed in Aleppo.

Several diplomats said Russia's last-minute introduction of the rival resolution was meant to put a negative spotlight on both sides of the war in Syria. Instead of Russia being the lone veto on a resolution demanding an end to the bombing campaign by Syrian and Russian aircraft in Aleppo, now the Western powers have vetoed a resolution calling for a halt to fighting in that region.

France circulated its draft resolution a week ago, saying it wanted the council to unite behind it. But negotiations never got Russia on board, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's visit to Moscow last week didn't, either.

Russia, a close Syria ally, has opposed any grounding of its warplanes, which have been supporting President Bashar Assad's military campaign.

Churkin called the French draft "very hastily put together."

"I frankly believe that this is designed not to make progress" in ending the current stalemate "but to cause a Russian veto," he told reporters after U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura briefed the Security Council in private Friday morning.

Churkin said it was "unprecedented" that the 15-member council would ask a permanent member to limit its activities, in this case requiring the Russian military to stop flights.

The French draft expresses the Security Council's intention to take "further measures" -- U.N. code for sanctions -- in the event that any party to the Syria conflict doesn't comply with its demands. There is no mention of this in the Russian text.

The Russian draft stressed "the urgent need to achieve and verify separating moderate forces from 'Jabhat Al-Nusra' as a key priority," referring to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, the militant group formerly known as the Nusra Front.

Key powers are divided over the course of action in war-ravaged Aleppo, and Syria in general, even as UNICEF's representative in Syria warned that the violence was causing "dire" humanitarian and psychological effects on both sides of Aleppo.

U.N. agencies are on "standby" to deliver assistance to the divided city, Hanaa Singer of the U.N.'s children agency told The Associated Press.

Also on Saturday, Syrian state media outlets and a Syria monitoring group said pro-government troops advanced in a northern district of eastern Aleppo, wrestling control from rebel fighters in their latest push into the besieged area.

Singer said conditions in besieged Aleppo are "terribly dire," with hospitals hit, doctors overwhelmed, and more than 100 children killed in bombings since Sept. 19. Conditions for thousands of displaced in the government-held part of the city also are deteriorating, with some of them being displaced for up to six times in the past three years, she said.

Singer returned last week from a weeklong trip to the government-held part of Aleppo where she visited thousands of displaced Syrians. Most are crammed in makeshift shelters, mosques, parks and churches after recently fleeing clashes on the front line between rebels and pro-government forces. In one case, a mother so desperate from the continuous displacement stabbed her baby girl, thinking she will save her daughter the misery of living on handouts and without a home, Singer said.

Describing the situation for thousands of families living in shelters in government-controlled Aleppo, Singer said: "These [are] the horrors in western Aleppo. God knows what is happening [in the case of] mental health or the psychological situation on the eastern [rebel-held] side."

Western Aleppo, controlled by the government, is separated from eastern rebel-held Aleppo by a few yards, sometimes by a single plastic sheet or pockmarked building. An estimated 275,000 people are living in the rebel-held part of Aleppo, with no international aid reaching the area since the first week of July. Besides the scarce assistance, it is also difficult to assess the needs with the ever-evolving violent situation, and lack of access for international aid groups, she said.

"I think we all agree, and especially if you have been so close in the area there and seeing the dire situation in the west, hearing about the horrible situation in the east, all we need now is [for] the violence to stop," Singer said. "The violence has to stop, and once the violence stops, the U.N., we absolutely stand ready. We are ready. We are actually on standby."

Singer said U.N. plans are in place for government-held Aleppo to accommodate people who may evacuate the besieged part of the city if a cease-fire takes effect.

According to medical charity Doctors Without Borders, hospitals in the eastern side of Syria's Aleppo have been attacked 23 times since July, damaging all eight facilities that have not yet been shuttered or destroyed. Since the U.S.-Russian cease-fire broke down Sept. 19, the situation in besieged Aleppo has deteriorated under relentless bombardment. Water stations and civil-defense centers also have been hit, while more than 320 people have been killed in eastern Aleppo in nearly three weeks of violence.

"In eastern Aleppo, the situation is terribly dire," Singer said. "Lots of schools and of hospitals have been hit; we understand that there are only 30 doctors there. We have information that at least over 100 children have been killed. We hear that because of the lack of services and lack of health facilities that some children, that doctors can't cope with all the cases, and some children in dire situation are left to die."

Information for this article was contributed by Edith M. Lederer and Sarah El Deeb of The Associated Press. </s> TRIPOLI: The UN's Libya envoy warned Thursday (Apr 18) of "a widening conflagration" in the North African country, saying international divisions had encouraged strongman Khalifa Haftar to launch his assault on Tripoli.

But for now, Ghassan Salame told AFP in an interview, there was "deadlock" in fighting south of the capital between Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) and the internationally recognised government.

"After the very first successes of the Libyan National Army two weeks ago, we are witnessing a military deadlock," he said.

Fighting broke out on Apr 4 when Haftar and his LNA, based in the country's east, launched an offensive to take Tripoli, the western seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

Haftar's offensive forced the UN to postpone a national conference that was to draw up a roadmap to elections in a bid to turn the page on years of chaos since the 2011 ouster of dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

The fighting has so far left at least 205 people dead and more than 900 wounded, the World Health Organisation said Thursday.

With both sides dug in, "Tripoli witnessed the heaviest fighting since the outbreak of clashes, with indiscriminate rocket fire on a high-density neighbourhood in the Libyan capital", said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Wednesday.

More than 25,000 have been displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Salame told AFP that "international divisions existed before the attack" and had "encouraged" Haftar, who is backed by Russia and seen by his allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as a bulwark against Islamists.

The UN Security Council has been deeply split on how to address the crisis in Libya after fresh negotiations on a draft resolution demanding a ceasefire in Tripoli failed to yield agreement.

Russia has sought to block any language that criticised Haftar's offensive as a threat to Libya's stability.

Germany, which holds the council presidency, called for an urgent meeting Thursday, when the council was to hear a briefing on the situation on the ground and "consult on the way forward", according to a note seen by AFP.

Britain has put forward a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation but Russia put up its concerns over language that criticized Haftar's offensive.

A slightly watered-down version was put forward by Britain on Wednesday but the three African countries on the council - Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, South Africa - blocked it.

Moscow also said the proposed measure even after it was amended was "still far away from accommodating our concerns", according to a note from the Russian mission seen by AFP.

The revised text did not single out Haftar's forces, but instead expressed "grave concern at military activity" near Tripoli, "including the launching of a military offensive by the LNA".

The three African countries insisted that there be a reference to an African Union statement on the need for all parties fighting in Tripoli to protect civilians including migrants and refugees, according to documents seen by AFP.

Britain had hoped to hold a vote before Friday, but that now looks unlikely. Diplomats said the United States appeared to be dragging its feet in pushing for a quick adoption of the draft resolution.
Russia and the United States veto a British-sponsored United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire between the Libyan National Army and forces loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord.