TRIPOLI, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister of Libya's UN-backed government Mohamed Sayala on Wednesday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate a recent deadly airstrike on the southern city of Murzuq.

The minister demanded the court to "pursue and punish those who committed the crime before the international court as a crime of war and a crime against humanity."

An airstrike killed more than 40 people and injured more than 50 others in Murzuq later Sunday.

The government condemned the attack, calling the UN Mission in Libya and the international community to "assume their responsibility and investigate the crimes committed by the militias in Murzuq."

The eastern-based army, which has been controlling Murzuq since February, announced the launching of airstrikes on Chadian militants around the Murzuq city, but denied targeting civilians.

Since early April, the government has been engaged in a deadly armed conflict against the army, which is trying to take over the capital Tripoli and overthrow the government.

The fighting so far has killed more than a thousand people, injured more than 5,700 others, and forced more than 120,000 people to flee their homes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The army is allied with the eastern-based government, as the north African nation is politically divided between eastern and western governments.

Libya has been mired in conflicts and chaos ever since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Enditem