United Nations says fighting over Libya’s capital displaces 8,000

The escalation in violence in and around Libya’s capital has resulted in the displacement of more than 8,000 people, the United Nations said Thursday. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the fighting in the past 24 hours was “the heaviest since the outbreak of hostilities.”

The self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, launched a major military offensive this month aimed at capturing Tripoli from the U.N.-backed government.