This article is part of a series of opinion pieces about Libya’s response to the pandemic within the ongoing conflict, through a human rights lens. The series is published in partnership with Lawyers for Justice in Libya , under the title "Libya: between conflict and pandemic, what hope for human rights?"
Instead of imposing measures to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19 following the first reported case in Libya on 24 March 2020, warring parties directed their resources towards escalating the conflict. Full lockdown measures and curfews were instituted over two weeks later by the Government of National Accord (GNA) in the West and by the Interim Libyan Government led by Abdullah al-Thinni in the East; information on measures in the South beyond thermal screening is limited.
