WASHINGTON, May 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday held phone conversations with his Egyptian counterpart on bilateral relationship and situation in Libya.
Pompeo and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the bilateral relationship, as well as "the urgent need to achieve a political solution in Libya and prevent further escalation," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
Since April, Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar has launched a military campaign against the internationally recognized government led by Prime Minister Fayez Al-Serraj in Tripoli.
During a meeting with Haftar earlier this month in Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi expressed Egypt's support for the LNA's efforts to fight terrorism in all its forms as well its role in working toward reaching political solutions to the conflict in the country.
Pompeo said in a statement last month that the United States opposed the military offensive by Haftar's forces and urged the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital.
Last week in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron asked Haftar to take moves to broker a ceasefire and resume political dialogue with UN-backed government to restore stability.
Haftar, however, told Macron that conditions for a ceasefire were not in place, French media reported.
A total of 562 people have been killed, and 2,855 others injured in the fighting in and around the capital Tripoli, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.
Libya has been struggling to undergo a transitional period amid chaos since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
