Libya Wants a Fact-Finding Commission to Bring Warlord Haftar to Justice

Published June 17th, 2020 - 10:32 GMT
A Turkish deminer enters a house through a hole in the wall with a warning about the presence of mines in the Salah al-Din area, south of the Libyan capital Tripoli, on June 15, 2020. Human Rights Watch earlier this month accused pro-Haftar forces of laying Russian and Soviet-era landmines as they withdrew from Tripoli's southern districts. A team of Turkish deminers arrived in Tripoli last week to bring their expertise, under a broader military cooperation agreement signed late last year between Tripoli an
A Turkish deminer enters a house through a hole in the wall with a warning about the presence of mines in the Salah al-Din area, south of the Libyan capital Tripoli, on June 15, 2020. Human Rights Watch earlier this month accused pro-Haftar forces of laying Russian and Soviet-era landmines as they withdrew from Tripoli's southern districts. A team of Turkish deminers arrived in Tripoli last week to bring their expertise, under a broader military cooperation agreement signed late last year between Tripoli and Ankara. Mahmud TURKIA / AFP
Highlights
Libyan military sources earlier said Haftar's forces and Russian mercenaries have planted improvised devices in residential areas in the central city of Sirte.

A Libyan official said Wednesday international efforts were underway to form a fact-finding commission to probe violations committed by warlord Khalifa Haftar's militia.

"Libyan authorities continue to document these violations in order to bring perpetrators to justice," Naser Gheita, an adviser to the Libyan Justice Ministry, told a press conference in Tripoli.

He said some countries -- without naming them -- are working to form a neutral fact-finding mission to look into Haftar's violations in southern Tripoli and the city of Tarhuna.

Libyan military sources earlier said Haftar's forces and Russian mercenaries have planted improvised devices in residential areas in the central city of Sirte.

According to the Libyan Center for Mine Clearance and War Remnants, landmines planted by Haftar's militia have killed 39 civilians and injured 71 others south of Tripoli.

The Libyan army recently inflicted heavy blows to Haftar and liberated Tripoli and Tarhuna, in addition to other strategic locations, including Al-Watiya airbase, from his militia.

The internationally recognized government has been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with more than 1,000 killed in the violence.

This article has been adapted from its original source.     

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