TRIPOLI, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The Interior Ministry of the UN-backed Libyan government on Wednesday accused the rival east-based army of cutting water supplies from southern Libya to the capital Tripoli.
"Cutting water supplies from the capital Tripoli and its surroundings ... is violation of the human rights and local and international laws," the ministry said in a statement.
"Cutting water supplies in these circumstances (where everyone is fighting against) the spread of the novel coronavirus ... endangers lives of children and families," the statement said.
The east-based army has not commented on the ministry's accusation so far.
The east-based army and the UN-backed government have been engaged in a deadly armed conflict since April 2019 over control of Tripoli, killing and injuring many civilians and also displacing more than 150,000 people away from their homes.
The water pipeline system, which was made during former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's rule in 1984, supplies western and eastern Libya with fresh water from the south.
