UN calls for probe into mass graves at Libya detention centres
FILE PHOTO: Members of the 444 Brigade of the Libyan Army, a unit serving the Government of National Unity (GNU) and Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, stand guard in Tripoli, Libya, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Ayman al-Sahili/File Photo
GENEVA - The United Nations rights office called on Wednesday for a independent investigation into the discovery of mass graves at detention centres in Libya's capital Tripoli.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was "shocked" by gross human rights violations uncovered at official and unofficial detention facilities run by the Stability Support Apparatus, a security institution.
It was established to uphold the rule of law and falls under the Presidential Council that came to power in 2021 with the Government of National Unity of Abdulhamid Dbeibah through a U.N.-backed process.
But Libya, a major oil producer in the Mediterranean, has known little law and order since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi and eventually divided the country between warring eastern and western factions.
The OHCHR said the discovery of dozens of bodies and suspected instruments of torture and abuse confirmed longstanding findings by the U.N. that human rights violations were committed at such sites.
"We call on the Libyan authorities to conduct independent, impartial and transparent investigations into these discoveries," OHCHR said in a statement. It urged the authorities to preserve evidence and grant Libya's forensic teams, as well as the United Nations, full access to the sites.
Outright war fighting in Libya abated with a ceasefire in 2020 but efforts to end the political crisis have failed, with major factions occasionally joining forces in armed clashes and competing for control over Libya's substantial energy resources.
Armed clashes erupted on Monday evening and gunfire echoed in the centre and other parts of Tripoli following reports that the commander of one of its most powerful armed groups had been killed, three residents told Reuters by phone. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
14 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Why Myanmar and Laos have been caught up in Trump's sweeping travel bans
US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on June 4 banning citizens from 12 countries from entering the US. PHOTO: REUTERS – The inclusion of Myanmar and Laos on a list of countries deemed by the Trump administration to pose terrorist and national security threats to the United States prompted immediate double takes from analysts in the Asean region. US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on June 4 banning citizens from 12 countries, mostly in the Middle East and Africa, from entering the US, reinstating and expanding on one of the most controversial measures from his first term in office. Partial restrictions apply to seven additional countries. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
14 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Nato's dilemma: How Zelensky can attend summit without provoking Trump
US and Ukrainian officials did not reply to questions about the nature of any invitation to Ukraine.. PHOTO: REUTERS BRUSSELS - Officials organising a Nato summit in The Hague in June are expected to keep it short, restrict discussion of Ukraine, and choreograph meetings so that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can somehow be in town without provoking US President Donald Trump. Though the Ukrainian president is widely expected to attend the summit in some form, Nato has yet to confirm whether he is actually invited. Diplomats say he may attend a pre-summit dinner but be kept away from the main summit meeting. Whether the brief summit statement will even identify Russia as a threat or express support for Ukraine is still up in the air. The careful steps are all being taken to avoid angering Washington, much less provoking any repeat of February's White House blow-up between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky that almost torpedoed the international coalition supporting Kyiv. Nato's European members, who see Russia as an existential threat and Nato as the principal means of countering it, want to signal their continued strong support for Ukraine. But they are also desperate to avoid upsetting a volatile Mr Trump, who stunned them at a summit seven years ago by threatening to quit the alliance altogether. If Mr Zelensky does not attend in some form, it would be 'at least a PR disaster', acknowledged a senior Nato diplomat. Since Russia's invasion three years ago, Mr Zelensky has regularly attended Nato summits as the guest of honour, where alliance members pledged billions in weapons and condemned Russia for an illegal war of conquest. Leaders repeatedly promised that Ukraine would one day join Nato. But since Washington's shift under Mr Trump towards partly accepting Russia's justifications for the war and disparaging Mr Zelensky, the 32-member alliance no longer speaks with a single voice about Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. Mr Trump has taken Ukraine's Nato membership off the table, unilaterally granting Moscow one of its main demands. After dressing down Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office in February, Mr Trump cut vital US military and intelligence support for Ukraine for days. Since then, the two men publicly mended fences in a meeting in St Peter's Basilica for the funeral of Pope Francis. But mostly they have spoken remotely, with Mr Zelensky twice phoning the White House on speakerphone while surrounded by four friendly Europeans – Britain's Keir Starmer, France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz and Poland's Donald Tusk. Spending boost Mr Trump is expected to come away from The Hague with a big diplomatic victory as Nato members heed his longstanding complaints that they do not spend enough on defence and agree a much higher target. They are expected to boost their goal for traditional military spending to 3.5 per cent of economic output from 2 per cent. A further pledge to spend 1.5 per cent on related expenses such as infrastructure and cyber defence would raise the total to 5 per cent demanded by Mr Trump. But the summit itself and its accompanying written statement are expected to be unusually short, minimising the chances of flare-ups or disagreements. A pledge to develop recommendations for a new Russia strategy has been kicked into the long grass. Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky may have to be content with an invitation to a pre-summit dinner, hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander, diplomats say. Unlike at Nato's previous two annual summits, the leaders do not plan to hold a formal meeting of the Nato-Ukraine Council (NUC), the official venue for talks between the alliance and Kyiv. The senior Nato diplomat said a working dinner with either foreign ministers or defence ministers could instead serve as an NUC. 'Properly represented' On June 4, Nato boss Mark Rutte said he had invited Ukraine to the summit, but sidestepped a question on whether the invitation included Mr Zelensky himself. After meeting Mr Rutte on June 2, Mr Zelensky said on X that it was 'important that Ukraine is properly represented' at the summit. 'That would send the right signal to Russia,' he said. US and Ukrainian officials did not reply to questions about the nature of any invitation to Ukraine. Some European countries are still willing to say in public that they hope to see Mr Zelensky invited as the head of the Ukrainian delegation. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said he would like to see a 'delegation led by President Zelensky'. Asked about an invitation for Mr Zelensky, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said 'I, for my part, strongly welcome the invitation' without giving further details. But diplomats have tried to play down the importance of the formal status of Mr Zelensky's role: 'Many allies want to have Zelensky at the summit, but there is flexibility on the precise format that would allow his presence,' said a second senior Nato diplomat. A senior European diplomat said: 'We should not get stuck on 'NUC or no NUC'. If he comes to the leaders' dinner, that would be the minimum.' REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
15 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Australian bouncy castle operator cleared over accident that killed six children
SYDNEY - An Australian woman whose bouncy castle was blown into the air by a freak wind event, killing six children, was found not guilty on June 6 of failing to meet her health and safety duties. In December 2021, a gust of wind lifted the inflatable castle about 10 metres into the air while children were celebrating the end of their year at a primary school in Devonport, northern Tasmania. Six children died and three were seriously injured. Ms Rosemary Gamble, owner of party equipment company Taz-Zorb that operated the bouncy castle, was charged with failing to comply with a workplace health and safety duty. She pleaded not guilty and on June 6, the Devonport Magistrates Court dismissed the charges against her. Magistrate Robert Webster said the bouncy castle was lifted into the air by an 'unprecedented weather system, namely a dust devil'. 'Ms Gamble could have done more or taken further steps; however, given the effects of the unforeseen and unforeseeable dust devil, had she done so, that would sadly have made no difference to the ultimate outcome,' Mr Webster said in his decision. 'In those circumstances I find the charge is not proved. It is therefore dismissed.' 'No words' Ms Gamble said she accepted how 'deeply and tragically this incident impacted so many people and families'. 'I realise those scars will remain for an extremely long time, likely forever,' she said in a statement to the Australian national broadcaster ABC. 'There are no words to describe how I have felt ever since that tragic incident took so much away from so many people and left nothing but heartbreak and emptiness in its place. 'I never meant for something like this to happen. And I am just so sorry that it did.' Mr Andrew Dodt, the father of one of the children who died in the incident, said he had been 'broken for a long time'. 'And I think I'm going to be broken for a lot more,' Mr Dodt said in a statement to the ABC. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
