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Second mass grave found in Libya's Tarhuna as Haftar under fire for war crimes

Bodies are found in a number of mass graves in Tarhuna after the province liberated from the militia loyal to warlord Khalifa Haftar, in Libya on June 11, 2020. [Hazem Turkia - Anadolu Agency]

Bodies are found in a number of mass graves in Tarhuna after the province liberated from the militia loyal to warlord Khalifa Haftar, in Libya on June 11, 2020. [Hazem Turkia - Anadolu Agency]

A second mass grave has been found in Libya’s Tarhuna, a province that has recently been liberated from militias loyal to warlord General Khalifa Haftar, the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) announced yesterday.

According to local media, five corpses have been found within the grave; the identities of which are yet to be confirmed.

Last week, the Libyan government also announced the discovery of a first mass grave in the city of Tarhuna, south of the capital Tripoli, which it linked to Haftar’s militias.

According to official Libyan sources, Haftar’s militia and forces loyal to it committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, during the period from April 2019 until June 2020.

Libya: UN concern over ‘horrific’ reports of discovery of 8 mass graves in Tarhuna

On 16 July, the Public Authority for Search and Identification of Missing Persons announced that 226 bodies had been found in mass graves in Tarhuna since 5 June.

Meanwhile, in June, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) expressed concern about horrific reports revealing that at least eight mass graves have been discovered, mostly in the western city of Tarhuna, calling for a speedy investigation of the extrajudicial killings.

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, also expressed deep shock at the discovery of mass graves in Libya, in territory that was recently in the hands of the so-called opposition Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Haftar.

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