Bodies found in area of Libya's capital run by armed group, UN says
Dozens of bodies have been discovered in detention facilities in an area of Libya's capital controlled by an armed militia, the UN said on Wednesday, expressing its concern about "gross human rights violations" including torture and enforced disappearances.
The UN human rights office said it was shocked by the discoveries at the official and unofficial detention sites run by the Stabilisation Support Apparatus (SSA) force in Tripoli.
The group's commander, Abdel-Ghani al-Kikli, was killed in fighting between heavily armed militias in the city in mid-May that left at least six dead, according to officials.
Subsequent clashes between state security actors and armed groups sparked protests calling for an end to violence in Tripoli, resulting in the deaths of several civilians and a police officer, as well as major damage to infrastructure, including hospitals, the UN said.
The UN rights office said it later received information on the excavation of 10 charred bodies at the SSA headquarters in the Abu Salim neighbourhood, with another 67 bodies discovered in refrigerators in the Abu Salim and Al Khadra hospitals. It also cited reports of a burial site at the Tripoli Zoo that was run by the SSA.
"Our worst held fears are being confirmed: dozens of bodies have been discovered at these sites, along with the discovery of suspected instruments of torture and abuse, and potential evidence of extrajudicial killings," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement. His office said the identities of the bodies were unclear.
Türk called on Libyan authorities to seal the area to preserve evidence and said there needed to be accountability for the killings. He said the UN should be granted access to the sites to document rights violations.
The SSA is an umbrella group of militias that rose to become one of the most powerful groups in western Libya, which has a history of atrocities during the nation's long-running conflict.
It is affiliated with the Presidential Council that took power in 2021 with the Government of National Unity (GNU) of Abdulhamid Dbeibah in a UN-backed process.
The group's late leader, al-Kikli, who was known as "Gheniwa", has been accused by Amnesty International of war crimes and other rights violations over the past decade.
The clashes in Tripoli last month were the latest bout of violence in the largely lawless North African country, which has been plunged into chaos and division since 2011 following the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
Libya has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.
Currently, it is governed by Dbeibah's internationally recognised government in the west and by the administration of Prime Minister Ossama Hammad in the east.
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