Tripoli, Apr 9 (IANS): The UN-backed Libyan government has declared Western and Central military zones, banning movement of vehicles without prior permission.

"According to the Emergency Law and the General Mobilization announced by the Supreme Commander of the Libyan Army, the Al-Burkan Al-Marsus Military Operations Chamber (UN-backed government's forces) announces that the Western and Central regions are military zones of the Libyan army, where movements of military and semi-military vehicles or cargo and fuel trucks are prohibited without prior permission," the UN-backed government's forces said in a statement.

The eastern-based army and the UN-backed government in Libya have been engaged in a deadly armed conflict since April 2019 over control of Tripoli, killing and injuring many civilians and also displacing more than 150,000 people, Xinhua news agency reported.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has documented at least 356 civilian deaths and 329 injuries since the outbreak of the armed conflict.

Nearly 150,000 people in and around Tripoli have been forced to flee their homes since the beginning of the conflict, and 345,000 civilians remain in frontline areas, while an estimated 749,000 others live in areas affected by the clashes, according to UNSMIL.

Libya has been suffering from escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.