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International human rights group Amnesty International on Thursday said that rebel and pro-government militias battling in Libya are committing war crimes, including attacking civilians and torturing detainees.
According to the rights group, militias fighting in the western part of the country showed “an utter disregard” for civilians and accused them of aimlessly firing artillery into crowded neighborhoods, damaging hospitals and homes.
“In today’s Libya, the rule of the gun has taken hold. Armed groups and militias are running amok, launching indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas and committing widespread abuses, including war crimes, with complete impunity”, deputy director for Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa program Hadj Sahraoui said.
According to Amnesty, the members of militia alliance Fajr Libya and pro-government forces in the city Zintan had both opened fire in civilian areas and took part in tit-for-tat abductions in skirmishes since July.
“Fighters on all sides in this conflict have fired GRAD rockets and artillery in crowded civilian neighborhoods”, Sahraoui said.
The group has also listed cases of militias abducting and torturing “scores of civilians” based on their perceived political affiliation or place of origin.
An alleged torture included an abducted truck driver from the town Zawiya, who was beaten with a metal bar and electrocuted before being burnt alive. Amnesty also cited another case in which a wounded fighter was abducted while he was being transferred to Tunisia for hospitalization, and was “shot with a gun most likely to the back of the head”.
The group called on the militias to stop the kidnappings and the targeting of civilians, warning that their leaders could be tried by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
“In the absence of accountability, the human rights situation in Libya is likely to continue its downward spiral”, Sahraoui said.
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