TRIPOLI, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The UN-backed Libyan government on Thursday decided to stop all security cooperation with France for the latter's support for the east-based army which is trying to take over Tripoli.
The instructions to stop commitment to bilateral security agreements and training with France was given by Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha.
The French government is supporting the "criminal Haftar who is against legitimacy," Bashagha said.
Khalifa Haftar's army has been leading a military campaign in and around the capital Tripoli since early April, attempting to take control of the city where the UN-recognized government is based.
According to the World Health Organization, the fighting between the Libyan army and the government forces has so far left 205 killed and 913 others injured.
The armed conflict also forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
The army is allied with Haftar's east-based government, as Libya is politically divided between two eastern and western governments.
Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid insecurity and chaos ever since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
