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Straits Times
6 days ago
- General
- Straits Times
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.
Straits Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Libya fighting calms after truce announced
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 at Abu Salim area, in Tripoli, Libya, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Ayman al-Sahili/File Photo TRIPOLI - The worst fighting in Libya's capital for years calmed on Wednesday an hour after the government announced a ceasefire, Tripoli residents said, with no immediate statement from authorities on how many people had been killed. Clashes broke out late on Monday after the killing of a major militia leader. After calming on Tuesday morning, the fighting reignited overnight, with major battles rocking districts across the entire city. "Regular forces, in coordination with the relevant security authorities, have begun taking the necessary measures to ensure calm, including the deployment of neutral units," the government's defence ministry said. The ministry said the neutral units it was deploying around sensitive sites were from the police force, which does not carry heavy weapons. The United Nations Libya mission UNSMIL said it was "deeply alarmed by the escalating violence in densely populated neighbourhoods of Tripoli" and urgently called for a ceasefire. Monday's clashes had appeared to consolidate the power of Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, prime minister of the divided country's Government of National Unity (GNU) and an ally of Turkey. However, any prolonged fighting within Tripoli risks drawing in factions from outside the capital, potentially leading to a wider escalation between Libya's many armed players after years of relative calm. The main fighting on Wednesday was between the Dbeibah-aligned 444 Brigade and the Special Deterrence Force (Rada), the last major armed Tripoli faction not currently in his camp, the English-language Libyan Observer reported. Fighting also erupted in western areas of Tripoli that have historically been a gateway for armed factions from Zawiya, a town to the west of the capital. WEEKS OF GROWING TENSIONS Tripoli residents trapped in their homes by the fighting voiced horror at the sudden eruption of violence, which had followed weeks of growing tensions among armed factions. "It's terrorizing to witness all this intense fighting. I had my family in one room to avoid random shelling," said a father of three in the Dahra area by phone. In the western suburb of Saraj, Mohanad Juma said fighting would pause for a few minutes before resuming. "Each time it stops we feel relieved. But then we lose hope again," he said. Libya has had little stability since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising ousted longtime autocrat Muammar Gaddafi and the country split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, though an outbreak of major warfare paused with a truce in 2020. A major energy exporter, Libya is also an important way station for migrants heading to Europe and its conflict has drawn in foreign powers including Turkey, Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Its main oil facilities are located in southern and eastern Libya, far from the current fighting in Tripoli. While eastern Libya has been dominated for a decade by commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA), control in Tripoli and western Libya has been splintered among numerous armed factions. Dbeibah on Tuesday ordered the dismantling of what he called irregular armed groups. That announcement followed Monday's killing of major militia chief Abdulghani Kikli, widely known as Ghaniwa, and the sudden defeat of his Stabilisation Support Apparatus (SSA) group by factions aligned with Dbeibah. The seizure of SSA territory in Libya by the Dbeibah-allied factions, the 444 and 111 Brigades, indicated a major concentration of power in the fragmented capital, leaving Rada as the last big faction not closely tied to the prime minister. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
