IOM Shocked at Discovery of Mass Graves in Libya
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday expressed shock and concern at the discovery of two mass graves in Libya with the bodies of dozens of migrants, some with gunshot wounds, the agency said in a statement.
The IOM statement came hours after Libyan Interior Minister in the Government of National Unity Emad Al-Trabelsi confirmed that his country 'would not be a state for settling migrants.'
On Monday, IOM said 19 bodies were discovered in Jakharrah (around 400 km south of Benghazi), while at least 30 more were found in a mass grave in the Kufra desert in the southeast. It is believed that there are as many as 70 bodies in the second grave.
Libya's security authorities recovered at least 28 bodies of migrants from a mass grave in the desert north of Kufra city, the country's attorney general said on its Facebook page on Sunday.
While 76 migrants were freed 'from forced detention,' he said.
On Sunday evening, Al-Trabelsi said Libya has deported thousands of irregular migrants to their home countries over the past year.
But he pointed out that the government granted an exempt to Sudanese, Palestinians and Syrians as their countries are going through wars.
The Minister also announced that a trip was scheduled on February 11 for 139 refugees from several countries to be resettled in Italy.
El-Trabelsi discussed with the Italian Ambassador to Libya Gianluca Alberini means to reduce the flow of illegal migrants, and support the efforts of the Libyan Ministry of Interior in combating this phenomenon.
Separately, the United Nations Support Mission announced Monday the conclusion of the inaugural meeting of the Advisory Committee, which lasted two days in Tripoli.
The mission said the committee members held an initial discussion on the main contentious issues related to the electoral framework.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
9 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Gaza now worse than hell on earth, ICRC chief says
GENEVA — Gaza has become worse than hell on earth, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross has told the BBC. In an interview at the ICRC's headquarters in Geneva, the organization's president Mirjana Spoljaric said "humanity is failing" as it watched the horrors of the Gaza war. Speaking in a room close to a case displaying the ICRC's three Nobel Peace Prizes, BBC asked Ms Spoljaric about remarks she made in April, that Gaza was "hell on earth", and if anything had happened since to change her mind. "It has become worse... We cannot continue to watch what is happening. It's surpassing any acceptable, legal, moral, and humane standard. The level of destruction, the level of suffering. "More importantly, the fact that we are watching a people entirely stripped of its human dignity. It should really shock our collective conscience." She added that states must do more to end the war, end the suffering of Palestinians and release Israeli hostages. The words, clearly carefully chosen, of the president of the ICRC carry moral weight. The International Red Cross is a global humanitarian organization that has been working to alleviate suffering in wars for more than a century and a half. It is also the custodian of the Geneva Conventions, the body of international humanitarian law that is intended to regulate the conduct of war and protect civilians and other non-combatants. The most recent version, the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, was adopted after the Second World War and was intended to stop the mass killing of civilians from happening again. Israel, I reminded her, justifies its actions in Gaza as self-defense. "Every state has a right to defend itself," she said. "And every mother has a right to see her children return. There's no excuse for hostage-taking. There is no excuse to depriving children from their access to food, health, and security. There are rules in the conduct of hostilities that every party to every conflict has to respect." Did that mean that the actions of Hamas and other armed Palestinians on 7 October 2023 — killing around 1200 and taking more than 250 hostage — did not justify Israel's destruction of the Gaza Strip and the killing of more than 50,000 Palestinians? "It's no justification for the disrespect or hollowing out of the Geneva Conventions. Neither party is allowed to break the rules, no matter what, and this is important because, look, the same rules apply to every human being under the Geneva Convention. A child in Gaza has exactly the same protections under the Geneva Conventions as a child in Israel." You never know, Ms Spoljaric added, when your own child might be on the weaker side and will need these protections. The ICRC is a reliable source of information about what is happening in Gaza. Israel does not allow international news organizations, including the BBC, to send journalists into the territory. The reporting of the more than 300 ICRC staff in Gaza, 90% of whom are Palestinians, forms a vital part of the record of the war. Ms Spoljaric, the ICRC president, has been talking every day to their team leader in Gaza. The ICRC surgical hospital in Rafah is the closest medical facility to the area where many Palestinians have been killed during chaotic aid distribution by the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Like the UN, the ICRC is not taking part in the new operation. A fundamental flaw of the new system is that it funnels tens of thousands of desperate, starving civilians through an active war zone. Ms Spoljaric said there was "no justification for changing and breaking something that works, with something that doesn't seem to be working". In the last few days, the ICRC surgical teams at their field hospital in Rafah near the GHF zone have been overwhelmed at least twice by the volume of casualties in the turmoil of the food operation. "Nowhere is safe in Gaza. Nowhere. Not for the civilians, not for the hostages," said Ms Spoljaric. "That's a fact. And our hospital is not safe. I don't recall another situation that I have seen where we operate in the midst of hostilities." A few days ago, a young boy was hit by a bullet coming through the fabric of the tent while he was treated. "We have no security even for our own staff... they are working 20 hours a day. They are exhausting themselves. But it's too much, it's surpassing human capabilities." The ICRC said that in just a few hours on Tuesday morning its Rafah surgical teams received 184 patients, including 19 people dead on arrival and eight others who died of their wounds shortly afterwards. It was the highest number of casualties from a single incident at the field hospital since it was established just over a year ago. It happened around dawn on Tuesday. Palestinian witnesses and ICRC medics reported terrible scenes of killing as Israeli troops opened fire on Palestinians who were converging on the new aid distribution site in southern Gaza. It was "total carnage" according to a foreign witness. An official statement from the Israeli military described a very different picture. It said "several suspects" moved towards Israeli forces "deviating from the designated access routes". Troops "carried out warning fire... additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced towards the troops". A military spokesperson said they were investigating what happened. It has denied shooting Palestinians in a similar incident on Sunday. Ms Spoljaric said the ICRC was deeply concerned about talk of victory at all costs, total war and dehumanization. "We are seeing things happening that will make the world an unhappier place far beyond the region, far beyond the Israelis and the Palestinians, because we are hollowing out the very rules that protect the fundamental rights of every human being." If there is no ceasefire, she fears for the future of the region. "This is vital. To preserve a pathway back to peace for the region. If you destroy that pathway forever for good, the region will never find safety and security. But we can stop it now. It's not too late." "State leaders are under an obligation to act. I'm calling on them to do something and to do more and to do what they can. Because it will reverberate, it will haunt them, it would reach their doorsteps." The ICRC is considered the custodian of the Geneva conventions. The fourth, agreed after the Second World War, is designed to protect civilians in wars. The Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 were, she said, no justification for current events. "Neither party is allowed to break the rules, no matter what," Ms Spoljaric said. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas' cross-border attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 54,607 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 4,335 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, according to the territory's health ministry. Appealing to parties to stop the hostilities, she said: "We cannot continue watching what is happening. "It defies humanity. It will haunt us." She called on the international community to do more. "Every state is under the obligation to use their means, their peaceful means, to help reverse what is happening in Gaza today," she said. — BBC
Arab News
10 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan condemns US veto of Gaza ceasefire bid, condemns storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday condemned Washington's decision to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, describing it as tacit approval for the 'continued annihilation' of Palestinians, while also denouncing the storming of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers this week. The US blocked a draft resolution tabled by the 10 elected members of the Security Council, which called for an 'immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire' between Israeli forces and Hamas, along with unhindered humanitarian access across the war-battered enclave. The United States said it would not support any measure that did not include provisions for Hamas to disarm and withdraw from Gaza. Reacting to the US decision, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, regretted the council's failure to adopt the resolution tabled by its ten elected members 'to address one of the most grave and sustained humanitarian catastrophes of our time.' 'Let us be clear: this failure will not go down in records as a mere procedural footnote,' he told the council. 'It will be remembered as complicity, a green light for continued annihilation, a moment where the entire world was expecting action, but yet again, this Council was blocked and prevented by one member from carrying out its responsibility.' Calling the humanitarian situation in Gaza a collapse of both international law and moral responsibility, Ahmad cited figures of over 54,000 civilian deaths, including 28,000 women and girls and 18,000 children, with nearly 100 Palestinians reported killed in the last 24 hours alone. He said the enclave had been 'decimated,' with famine, disease and displacement spreading faster than aid could arrive. The ambassador rejected arguments that called for delaying action to allow negotiations to proceed, questioning how much more 'space filled with rubble, graves and the anguished cries of children' would be needed before meaningful intervention took place. He reiterated Pakistan's support for a ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza and a negotiated two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of a sovereign Palestinian state. Ahmed said the international community had spoken clearly through the General Assembly and the International Court of Justice, while the Security Council remained 'muzzled.' AL-AQSA MOSQUE STORMING In a separate statement issued in Islamabad, Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem by Israeli settlers this week, calling it a 'direct assault' on the sanctity and legal status of one of Islam's holiest sites. According to media reports, dozens of Israeli settlers entered the mosque compound and performed Talmudic rituals, prompting condemnation from several Muslim-majority countries. 'These reprehensible acts, including violations at multiple entrances of the Mosque, are a direct assault on the sanctity, historical character, and legal status of the revered Muslim holy site,' the foreign ministry said, warning that such actions could ignite further unrest in an already volatile region. The ministry also expressed concern over the continued targeting of civilians in Gaza, saying that nearly 100 Palestinians had been killed in the span of a single day, including people waiting at food distribution points. It noted that Israeli forces were operating with impunity and called for their international accountability. Reaffirming Pakistan's position on the conflict, the ministry called for immediate steps to halt the violence, ensure access to humanitarian assistance and revive efforts toward a political resolution to the conflict.
Saudi Gazette
19 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Interior Ministry: Hajj success a shared responsibility as pilgrims arrive in Mina
Saudi Gazette report MINA — Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior emphasized on Wednesday that the success of the Hajj season is a shared responsibility, calling on all parties to adhere strictly to official regulations. Security and organizational preparations are in full effect to ensure smooth pilgrim movement between the holy sites. In a press briefing, Ministry of Interior security spokesperson Col. Talal Al-Shalhoub confirmed that pilgrims had been safely transported to Mina to observe the Day of Tarwiyah, in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). 'We are utilizing advanced technologies across all sectors to ensure the safety and service of pilgrims. There are no challenges we cannot overcome,' Al-Shalhoub said. 'Our efforts stem from the deep-rooted values of Saudi society—our security personnel serve without seeking reward except from God.' He underscored that the success of the Hajj pilgrimage is a collective responsibility, urging everyone to comply with safety instructions, adhere to scheduled group movement times, and respect approved transportation plans. He also warned of legal consequences for unauthorized transport of pilgrims. Al-Shalhoub revealed that authorities have issued 357 administrative decisions against 397 individuals involved in violating Hajj transport regulations. He added that anyone issuing visitor visas to those attempting to perform Hajj without permits would also be held accountable. Dr. Ghassan Al-Nouaimi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, reiterated Saudi Arabia's welcome to the pilgrims, noting the arrival of over 1.5 million pilgrims from abroad. He said more than 94,000 employees and 3,000 volunteers are serving the pilgrims this year. Al-Nouaimi projected that over one million pilgrims would arrive in Mina by the end of Wednesday, the 8th of Dhul Hijjah. He emphasized the importance of complying with the official pilgrim movement schedules and avoiding walking between the holy sites outside approved plans. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has also launched an updated version of the 'Nusuk' card with enhanced security features, linked to the Nusuk and Tawakkalna apps. Carrying the card is mandatory for all pilgrims during their movements in the holy sites and the Grand Mosque. He also highlighted that 97% of service providers were found compliant following more than 62,000 inspection tours of pilgrim accommodations. In addition, the operational capacity of the Mataf (circumambulation area) has been raised to accommodate 107,000 pilgrims per hour.
