VOA’s Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.

Fighting for control of Libya’s capital escalated Wednesday as the United Nations Security Council prepared to meet to discuss the crisis in the North African country.

Eastern forces led by General Khalifa Haftar clashed with U.N. and government-backed troops on the outskirts of Tripoli, forcing thousands of residents to flee.

Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) surrendered their stronghold in east Libya and captured a sparsley-populated and oil-rich area south of the capital earlier this year before launching a new offensive near Tripoli a week ago.

Libya has been divided since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled for more than four decades before being defeated by Western-backed revolt. The country was subsequently split into eastern and western administrations, with political and armed factions fighting for control of Libya’s wealth.

U.N. Security Council members Britain and Germany called for a meeting Wednesday to discuss the escalation. The request came one day after the U.N. said a national conference on Libya scheduled for Sunday to bring warring parties together is unlikely to go ahead due to the violence.

The U.N. wants to bring both sides to the negotiating table to plan an election and an end to the violence, and to work toward a new constitution.

The U.N. has also appealed for a humanitarian truce in the suburbs of Tripoli to evacuate civilians. As of Tuesday, some 4,500 people had been displaced due to the fighting.

A U.N. appeal for $202 million for its humanitarian response in Libya this year has fallen far short of its goal, with only six-percent of the requested amount received.  

 
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