British diplomats have circulated a draft resolution to members of the United Nations Security Council demanding a ceasefire in Libya.

The move follows nearly two weeks of diplomatic deadlock over how to respond to violence that has seen at least 170 people killed and displaced more than 18,000 people.

General Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army launched an assault on Tripoli, the seat of the country's UN-recognised Government of National Accord, on April 4, saying it wanted to clear out "terrorists" and unaccountable militias

But LNA troops have become bogged down in fighting against forces loyal to prime minister Fayez al-Serraj's government in the city's southern outskirts, raising fears of a prolonged Syrian-style civil war.