UN chief warns that Libya risks a return to wide conflict

United Nations: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is warning that Libya risks a return to widespread conflict, citing the volatile security situation in Tripoli and fighting in the oil-rich east and elsewhere.

The UN chief expressed alarm in a report to the Security Council at the renewed military escalation and ongoing political stalemate in the country.

Guterres said the Islamic State extremist group no longer controls territory in Libya but its operatives have been sighted, it has been blamed for a number of attacks in different areas, and the international community remains a target.

Libya sank into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed dictator Moammar Gadhafi, and has remained split between rival parliaments and governments in the east and west, each backed by a set of militias, tribes and political factions.