Car bomb kills two UN staff in Benghazi

BENGHZI, Libya — A bomb-laden vehicle exploded Saturday outside a shopping mall in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi, killing at least two U.N. security staff, health officials said. The attack came even as the country’s warring sides said they accepted a cease-fire proposed by the U.N. aimed at halting combat in the capital, Tripoli, during a Muslim holiday.

The officials said the blast took place outside Arkan Mall in the Hawari neighborhood, where people were gathering for shopping, a day before the Eid al-adha holiday begins. The Benghazi municipal council said the attack targeted a convoy for the U.N. Support Mission in Libya. The site of the attack is close to the support mission offices.

Health officials said the two dead hailed from Libya and Fuji. The blast also wounded nine people, officials said.

Footage circulated online shows what appears to be burnt U.n.-owned vehicles, as thick smoke bellows into the sky.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters. A spokeswoman for the U.N. mission in Libya did not answer phone calls seeking comment.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came just a month after two bombladen vehicles went off in Benghazi, the stronghold for the self-styled Libyan National Army. The July attack killed at least four people and wounded 33.

The warring sides, meanwhile, said they accepted a multi-day truce for the Eid holiday, which begins Sunday.

Earlier last week, the U.N. envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, urged the LNA and the U.n.supported government to declare a cease-fire for the holiday.

The Tripoli-based government on Friday responded positively to the proposal, while LNA spokesman Ahmed al-mosmari told a news conference in Benghazi on Saturday that they would abide by the cease-fire from Saturday to Monday.

If it takes place, the cease-fire would be the first since the LNA, led by military commander Khalifa Hifter, launched a surprise military offensive on April 4 aimed at capturing Tripoli.