TRIPOLI, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The deadly attack on a reception center for illegal immigrants in the Libyan capital of Tripoli has drawn national and international condemnation and calls for investigation.
Late on Tuesday, an immigrant reception center in eastern Tripoli came under attack, which, according to the Libyan Ministry of Justice, killed more than 60 and injured over 77 others.
The Foreign Ministry demanded an international investigation into the attack as a "war of crime, or even a terrorist crime."
The UN-backed government accused the rival east-based army of carrying out the attack, while the army strongly denied, saying the government was behind it.
The UN Support Mission in Libya strongly condemned the attack, confirming committees had been dispatched "to various places that have witnessed such violations to conduct investigations on the ground."
"This attack clearly could constitute a war crime, as it killed by surprise innocent people whose dire conditions forced them to be in that shelter," said UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame.
The European Union Delegation to Libya called on all conflict parties in Libya to "respect international humanitarian law."
The UN Higher Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Wednesday called for investigation in the deadly attack.
"UNHCR and IOM believe a full and independent investigation is required to determine how this happened and who was responsible, and to bring those individuals to account," UNHCR and IOM said in a joint statement.
The Libyan National Commission for Human Rights also demanded that an independent international fact-finding team investigate "all crimes and gross violations of human rights and the norms of international humanitarian law committed against innocents and civilians."
The attack in Tripoli came as the armed conflict continues between the government forces and the army, the latter of which has been trying to take over the Libyan capital since early April.
According to the World Health Organization, the fighting has so far killed hundreds of people and injured thousands of others.
Libya is a preferred point of departure for thousands of migrants wanting to cross the Mediterranean toward European shores.
Migrant shelters in Libya are crowded with thousands of migrants who have been rescued at sea or arrested by Libyan security services.
Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political instability ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
