TRIPOLI, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Foreign Ministry of the UN-backed government of Libya on Thursday demanded Italy to end a fishing agreement signed with the rival eastern-based government.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of National Accord demanded the competent Italian authorities to intervene to stop the fishing federation in the island of Sicily from dealing with illegal bodies in the eastern region," the Ministry said in a statement.

"The Ministry said in a note sent to the Italian Embassy in Tripoli that the so-called Military Investment and Public Works Authority in the eastern region is an illegal body and that dealing with it is a violation of international resolutions," the statement said.

The statement also said that the monthly fee of 100, 000 euros (110, 000 U.S. dollars) paid according to the agreement to the Military Investment and Public Works Authority is "funding of illegitimate bodies, support to the continual aggression on the capital, and a coup against the legitimate government in Libya."

Local and Italian newspapers reported in the past two days that an agreement has been signed between the Military Investment and Public Works Authority of the eastern-based army and the National Federation of Italian Fishermen's Organizations to authorize fishing and provide protection for Italian fishing boats in Libyan waters.

The UN-backed government has been engaged in a deadly armed conflict in and around the capital Tripoli since early April against the eastern-based army, which is trying to take over the city and overthrow the UN-backed government.

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

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

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