LThe UN expressed its “horror” Thursday after reports of the discovery of mass graves in an area that fell last week into the hands of pro-government forces at war for more than a year against those of Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
On June 5, forces loyal to the Government of National Union (GNA), recognized by the UN, chased rival troops from Khalifa Haftar of Tarhouna, their last stronghold in the west of the oil country plunged into chaos since the Fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
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Supported militarily by the Turkish ally, the GNA thus seized the whole of the west of the country, a major success against the men of Marshal Haftar, strong man of the east supported him by Egypt and the Russia.
In a press release, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (Manul) said “to note with horror the information on at least eight mass graves discovered in recent days, most in Tarhouna”, 65 km south-east of Tripoli .
She called for “effective and transparent investigations into the alleged illegal deaths”. She also welcomed the creation on Thursday by the Ministry of Justice of the GNA of a commission of inquiry which she called to “secure the mass graves, identify the victims, establish the causes of death and return the remains” families.
An AFP journalist had access to the alleged site of a mass grave in Tarhouna, where several bodies were discovered the day before and removed by the Libyan Red Crescent, according to police on the spot.
Scraps of clothing were still scattered on the site, near pits covered with fresh earth.
“160 spoils”
According to the director of the Tarhouna public hospital, Abouraoui al-Bouzedi, “160 bodies” were also discovered at the morgue by GNA forces upon their arrival in the city.
The bodies “were transferred to Tripoli and Misrata by the Red Crescent,” the hospital director added to journalists in Tarhouna, without further explanation.
A few days ago, the Manul called information about the discovery of bodies at Tarhouna hospital “very disturbing” and called on the GNA to quickly launch an impartial investigation.
After the capture of this city, the GNA had warned its troops against any act of reprisals or pillage, under penalty of criminal prosecution, and called to take care to protect “the lives, the dignity and the properties” of the citizens.
Seeming to want to continue their momentum after the defeats inflicted on their rivals these last weeks, the troops of the GNA launched on June 6 an attack to retake the city of Sirte, strategic lock in direction of the east and the most important oil installations country, still in the hands of pro-Haftar.
But they then had to slow down their advance towards this city located 450 km east of Tripoli, in particular because of air raids of their rivals according to Libyan media.
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