TRIPOLI, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN on Monday condemned an attack by a militia on a local hospital in the Libyan capital Tripoli, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement.
"The United Nations condemns the attack against Jalaa Hospital for Women and Childbirth in Tripoli, by militias. The attackers shot one doctor and threatened the safety and security of the medical staff at the hospital, resulting in a three-day halt of all non-emergency medical services," the statement said.
Armed groups bomb hospitals, assault medical staff, loot medicine, equipment and ambulances, and clash inside hospitals, all with impunity, the statement revealed.
Libyan health system already suffers lack of resources, and such attacks threaten lives of innocent patients and medical personnel, the statement added.
"The UN warns the perpetrators that attacks against medical facilities and healthcare providers are prohibited under International Humanitarian Law and that those responsible must be brought to justice for what may amount to war crimes, under the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court," the statement warned.
On Thursday, the UNSMIL said that armed groups have been using force and intimidating public and private institutions in Tripoli recently with the aim of getting access to financial resources.
Libya has been suffering political division and insecurity ever since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011. Authorities struggle to impose their control in the country, as many armed groups operate independently.
