The spokesman for Khalifa Haftar's forces Ahmed Al-Mismari has announced accepting the calls for a humanitarian halt of hostilities in Libya as part of preventive measures against Coronavirus outbreak.

Despite the announcement, Haftar's forces carried out indiscriminate shelling on Bab Benghashir area in Tripoli, hitting an apartment and injuring at least two children, according to Abu Salim mayor Abdelrahman Al-Hamdi.

Haftar's acceptance of the ceasefire came a few hours after a statement by the US State Department urging him to commit a humanitarian halt of hostilities just like the Head of the Presidential Council Fayez Al-Sarraj did; a step the US welcomed as part of uniting efforts to prevent a Coronavirus outbreak in Libya.

The statement by the spokeswoman of the State Department posted on the US embassy in Libya's Facebook page urges that all Libyan leaders must urgently prioritize the health of the Libyan people, saying it is the only responsible thing to do.

It added that now is the time for all actors, including Haftar, to suspend military operations, reject toxic foreign interference, and enable health authorities to fight this global pandemic.

The statement indicated that the United States has consistently opposed all military escalation and the ongoing transfer of foreign military equipment and personnel into Libya.

The US State Department's statement indicated that the US had consistently opposed all military escalation and the ongoing transfer of foreign military equipment and personnel into Libya, saying it remained in support of a UN-facilitated dialogue among Libyan actors in order to achieve a lasting ceasefire and create the conditions for all actors to halt their military activities and return to meaningful negotiations.

The ceasefire was first announced on January 12, yet it had remained ink on paper as Haftar's forces continued since day to violate it by attacks on civilian neighborhoods and vital institutions in and around Tripoli.