More Libyan civilian casualties in May than any other month this year, reports UN

More civilians were killed or injured in Libya last month than during any other month this year, the UN has reported. A total of 68 casualties were reported across Libya alone, compared to the 28 recorded civilian casualties in April.

According to the UN, Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices killed five people in May and wounded 20 others. Gunfire, meanwhile, killed nine and injured six, whilst air strikes accounted for one death and six people wounded.

The UN report also provided details of a man’s body taken to a Tripoli hospital with a gunshot wound. The victim’s hands and legs were bound with metal chains and he had reportedly been abducted some 40 days earlier by armed groups in Wirshefana. On 21 May, a hospital in the capital also received the body of a 24 year old man which bore the marks of torture.

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The report mentioned the violence that engulfed Tripoli last weekend. At least four civilians were killed in the crossfire between rival groups, along with 44 combatants. More than 50 other fighters were wounded in the clashes.