Libyan rights groups accuse Haftar’s forces of war crimes

The Solidarity Organisation for Human Rights, an NGO based in Tripoli, has accused militias loyal to General Khalifa Haftar of carrying out violations “amounting to war crimes” against civilians in Ganfouda in the west of Benghazi, Anadolu reported today.

“The crimes and violations carried out by the militias loyal to Operation Dignity [Haftar’s forces] have been continuous in Benghazi since 2014,” said the group’s media statement. “On 18 March, Haftar forces exhumed graves and took out a number of dead bodies in Ganfouda and wandered with them in the streets.”

Film of the acts shows that senior officers, including Colonel Mahmoud Al-Werfally and Major General Wanis BoKhamada stood beside the bodies when they were pulled out of the graves. Further evidence of these crimes was revealed as the recordings went viral on social media, including “extrajudicial killings, torture and the degradation of prisoners.”

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A few days ago, the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (LNHCR) called for action against the “war crimes” committed by Haftar’s forces in the wake of taking control of Benghazi. A statement issued by Operation Dignity leadership acknowledged that violations had taken place but sought to distance itself from those responsible. “The acts do not reflect the views of the general leadership,” Operation Dignity officials insisted. “They were personal and individual reactions.”

Furthermore, the LNHCR blamed the National Unity Government in Tripoli, the UN mission in Libya and the office of the ICC prosecutor for the violations because it said that it had warned them that “civilians in Ganfouda feared to be exposed to revenge by Operation Dignity forces.” The group called for the UN Human Rights Council to commission a fact-finding mission to investigate the “flagrant crimes carried out by the Operation Dignity militias.”

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