The United States and its allies called Thursday for an immediate de-escalation of tensions in Libya and warned any military action would have consequences after strongman Khalifa Haftar ordered forces to advance on Tripoli.

"Our governments oppose any military action in Libya and will hold accountable any Libyan faction that precipitates further civil conflict," said a joint statement by the United States, France, Britain, Italy and the United Arab Emirates.

U.S. lawmakers voted Thursday to end military support for the bloody Saudi-led war in Yemen, dealing a harsh bipartisan rebuke to Donald Trump and taking the historic step of curtailing a president's war-making powers.

The House of Representatives voted 247 to 175, with one congressman voting present, to approve a resolution that directs the president "to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting the Republic of Yemen" within 30 days.

Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar ordered his troops Thursday to "advance" on Tripoli, seat of the internationally-recognized unity government, after U.N. chief Antonio Guterres warned against a major flare-up.

"The time has come," Haftar said in an audio message released online by his self-proclaimed Libyan National Army. 

An Airbus jet operated by EgyptAir that crashed over the Mediterranean almost three years ago, killing all 66 people on board, should have been grounded because of a series of technical issues on previous flights, according to a French investigation.

Mass protests may have pushed long-time Algerian leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power, but demonstrators look unlikely to let up, demanding sweeping changes to the political system. 

Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged Egyptian authorities to reveal the whereabouts of at least five Egyptians deported home from Malaysia and Turkey fearing they may face "torture and ill-treatment".

UN chief Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern Thursday over the risk of confrontation in Libya after forces loyal to a controversial strongman announced they were preparing to advance on Tripoli.

The resignation of Algerian leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika after huge protests has inspired activists in the region, but looks unlikely to spark a repeat of the Arab Spring uprisings.

Civil society figures in authoritarian Egypt and Sudan welcomed the toppling of a veteran president once seen as unassailable in dramatic scenes that recalled the wave of upheavals in 2011.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Wednesday of "devastating" results if Turkey strikes Syria as he met in Washington with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Young children nursing severe facial burns, others suffering from malnutrition -- an exodus of jihadist families and civilians from the Islamic State group's vanquished final enclave is overwhelming eastern Syria's hospitals.