Tripoli, Nov 10 (IANS): The UN Children's Fund (Unicef) has said that it needed $14.8 million to fund basic and life-saving services in Libya.

"The Unicef humanitarian response remains under-funded. The current funding gap stands at $ 14.8 million until the end of 2019 with major funding gaps in all life-saving health and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, education and child protection activities," the world body said on Saturday.

Nearly 5,000 students have been impacted in July and August by the ongoing armed conflicts in and around the capital Tripoli and the rest of Western Libya, Xinhua news agency reported citing Unicef as saying.

"Unicef remains concerned about the continued violence in Western Libya and in and around Tripoli which has displaced 128,150 people and continues to subject children to death, injuries and violence," it added.

The east-based army has been leading a military campaign since early April in and around the capital Tripoli, attempting to take over the city and overthrow the UN-backed government.

The violence killed and injured thousands of people, and also displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.

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