Besieger of Libyan capital rejects talks

CAIRO — A Libyan commander whose forces are fighting to take the country’s capital of Tripoli from militias allied with a U.N.-backed government based there has dismissed an initiative by its prime minister for negotiations to end the crisis.

Instead, Khalifa Hifter vowed in comments to a news website on Wednesday that his fighters would press on with the weeks-long offensive until Tripoli is rid of what he described as “terrorist militias.”

“Our military operations will not stop” until Tripoli is taken, Hifter told “almarsad.co.”

In April, Hifter’s self-styled Liberation National Army from eastern Libya and loyal to a rival, east-based government, launched the offensive which has been widely criticized by the U.N. and aid agencies. Hundreds have been killed so far in the violence, mainly combatants but also civilians, and thousands have been displaced.

Hifter’s campaign has also raised fears of another bout of violence after the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Since then, the country has sunk into chaos, with rival administrations in the east and the west, and an array of forces and militias allied with either side.

On Monday, the World Health Organization reported the latest casualty tolls for the fighting in and around Tripoli, saying 691 people have been killed so far, including 41 civilians, and 4,012 wounded, 135 of them civilians.