23-11-2024 08:59 AM Jerusalem Timing

Amnesty: Libya Militias Commit “Mounting War Crimes”

Amnesty: Libya Militias Commit “Mounting War Crimes”

Amnesty International said Thursday that pro-government and rebel militias vying for control of western Libya are committing war crimes including torturing detainees and targeting civilians.

Amnesty International said Thursday that pro-government and rebel militias vying for control of western Libya are committing war crimes including torturing detainees and targeting civilians.

Libya is being rocked by fighting between militias in the west and in second city Benghazi, where troops are trying to dislodge extremists who control most of what was the cradle of the 2011 uprising that ousted dictator Moammar Gadddafi.

Amnesty said militias in the west showed "an utter disregard" for civilian casualties and accused them of indiscriminately lobbing artillery fire into crowded civilian neighborhoods, damaging homes and hospitals.

"In today's Libya, the rule of the gun has taken hold," said Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director for Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa programme.

"Armed groups and militias are running amok, launching indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas and committing widespread abuses, including war crimes, with complete impunity."


Since the 2011 revolution that ousted Gaddafi the authorities in the North African nation have failed to stamp their authority on the militias that fought in the uprising.

Earlier this month, the United Nations called for a truce between government-backed forces and Islamist militias in Benghazi and in western Libya, but fighting continues unabated.