U.N. Security Council passes Libya resolution over secret airstrikes
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) -- The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on Libya on Wednesday that calls for an immediate ceasefire and includes sanctions for those involved in violence there.
The Security Council's move came amid worsening conflict in Libya -- and a day after the Pentagon said it believes Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have been conducting secret airstrikes in the North African nation.
That claim has been denied by Egyptian leaders and apparently dismissed by a UAE minister.
The allegation was first made at the weekend by militants from an alliance of Islamist and Misrata militias -- known as the Libya Dawn forces -- who have been battling rival moderate militias from the western city of Zintan.
The alliance wrested control of Tripoli International Airport from the Zintan militia groups Saturday night after airstrikes targeting locations held by their own forces.
The claims of outside military intervention have sparked fears that Libya has become the latest arena in a regional battle for influence between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE on one hand and Turkey and Qatar on the other.
Libya continues to be beset by instability -- politically, militarily and otherwise -- nearly three years after the revolution that toppled former strongman leader Moammar Gadhafi. That has included extensive violence, much of it involving increasingly powerful militias that have outgunned the nation's central government.
Late last month, the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, the United Nations and other international organizations and businesses evacuated their staffs due to the unrest.
The U.N. resolution calls for an end to the fighting and for those responsible to be held accountable.
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U.N. Security Council passes Libya resolution over secret airstrikes