Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS, 30th August – OHCHR has warned.on Friday that mass killings, sexual violence and abductions in the Libyan city of Tarhuna, dated back to 2013, continue to go unpunished, risking further instability and division in the country
UN rights investigators in a new report details how an armed group that emerged in 2011 after the overthrow of longtime President Muammar Gaddafi, exercised brutal control over Tarhuna, a city of 150,000 people, about 65 kilometres southeast of Tripoli.
The Al-Kaniyat fighters’ crimes also included torture, ill-treatment and forced displacement between 2013 and 2022.
OHCHR spokesperson Seif Magango emphasized that the “failure to deliver justice” has led to renewed violence and serious rights violations in Tarhuna and surrounding areas.
These findings echo an earlier report commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council.
“The 2022 Fact-Finding Mission report detailed evidence of atrocities committed in Tarhuna, including the discovery of mass graves containing hundreds of human remains, most of them handcuffed, blindfolded, and showing signs of torture,” he said.
“The report also warned of the possibility that there could be up to 100 more such mass burial sites.”
Mr. Magango added that Al-Kaniyat’s integration into the former Government of National Accord and later the Libyan National Army (LNA) has been “a significant barrier” to accountability and justice.
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