France wants UN sanctions on Libya’s militias after Tripoli clashes

France said on Monday it wanted the UN Security Council to implement sanctions on militias involved in month-long clashes between rival factions in Libya’s capital Tripoli. The fighting has undermined UN efforts to hold elections by the end of the year. At least 115 people have been killed and 383 injured in clashes which pitted the Seventh Brigade, or Kaniyat, from Tarhouna, a town 65km (40 miles) southeast of Tripoli, against the Tripoli Revolutionaries’ Brigades (TRB) and the Nawasi, two of the capital’s largest armed groups, Reuters said. Tripoli and western Libya are run by a UN-backed government mainly supported by armed groups, while eastern Libya is controlled by a rival administration. “We must be tougher on those that want to keep the status quo for their benefits,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian said ahead of a meeting hosted by France on Libya on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.