A car bombing outside a shopping mall in Libya's Benghazi on Saturday killed at least three UN staff members and injured nine others, according to a spokesperson for the United Nations secretary-general.
The blast took place outside the Arkan Mall in the Hawari neighbourhood. People had come to the mall for shopping a day before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
Libya's warring sides had accepted a cease-fire proposed by the UN in view of the holiday. The attack reportedly targeted a convoy of the UN Support Mission in Libya.
“The Secretary-General extends his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wishes a swift recovery to all the injured. He calls on the Libyan authorities to spare no effort in identifying and swiftly bringing to justice the perpetrators of this attack,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson to UN secretary General Antonio Guterres, said.
He also said the secretary-general urged “all parties to respect the humanitarian truce during Eid al-Adha and return to the negotiating table to pursue the peaceful future the people of Libya deserve.”
The UN special envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, condemned the blast, calling it a “cowardly attack”. “This attack will not discourage us, nor will it prevent us from carrying on with our duties to bring about peace, stability and prosperity to Libya and its people,” he said in a statement.
No group has claimed responsibility so far. The attack comes a month after two car bombs went off in Benghazi, killing four people and injuring over 30 others.