UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (photo: AFP)

Mr Guterres spoke in New York after a closed doors session of the UN Security Council which had been called by Britain and Germany due to concerns about a renewed and open-ended phase of conflict. He told reporters after the meeting that it is time for a ceasefire to avoid the worse case scenario, which would be a dramatic bloody battle for Tripoli.

Libya’s Parliament speaker in the east says no peace deal can be reached right now between rival factions in his country because the capital of Tripoli has been “kidnapped” by armed groups.