A UN report details how Kaniyat militia fighters executed and imprisoned hundreds of people between 2016 and 2020.

A United Nations-appointed mission to Libya said there were still “probable mass graves” to be investigated, possibly as many as 100, in a town where hundreds of bodies have already been found.

The report due to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council this week details how Kaniyat militia fighters executed and imprisoned hundreds of people between 2016 and 2020, sometimes keeping them in tiny shaped structures ovens called “the boxes”, which were set on fire. during interrogations.

Evidence of abductions, killings and torture in Tarhuna, uncovered by the independent fact-finding mission, represents one of the most egregious examples of human rights abuses in the turbulent period since the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 .

Among the victims were people with disabilities, as well as women and children, the 51-page report said.

Based on testimonies from residents and two site visits, the mission found “reasonable grounds” that the Kaniyat militia committed crimes against humanity. He identified four commanders who participated directly.

Libyan authorities have already recovered 247 bodies from mass and individual graves in the Tarhuna region of western Libya. Many victims were still handcuffed and blindfolded.

The mission used satellite images showing signs of ground disturbance, among other evidence, to identify three likely new sites. But there could be many more, he said, citing an existing tomb known as “The Landfill” where only a tiny part of the site has been surveyed.

“According to inside information, there may still be up to 100 undiscovered mass graves,” the report said.

It is not immediately clear how the findings will affect Libyan authorities. The Libyan diplomatic mission in Geneva did not make a statement on the matter.

Allied to both governments

At one point, the Kaniyat aligned itself with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, but later with the Eastern Libyan National Army, led by General Khalifa Haftar, which unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the internationally recognized national accord administration. Fighters no longer hold authority in Tarhuna.

Surviving Kaniyat leaders are believed to have mostly fled to areas of eastern Libya under Haftar’s control.

In its conclusions, the fact-finding mission (FFM) calls on the Libyan authorities to continue the search for the graves. He also urges them to establish a special tribunal to prosecute international crimes.

Tracy Robinson, one of three chiefs in charge of the 18-person team, said she did not have the resources or the authority to investigate Tarhuna’s graves on her own. “It is the duty of the state to act,” she told reporters in Geneva.

The report refers to the cooperation difficulties of the Libyan authorities in the past. Diplomats and UN sources told Reuters that Libya had previously expressed reservations about continuing the mission, which expires this month.

A resolution is currently before the Geneva-based council to continue the investigations for another nine months, which is less than some had hoped.

A decision is expected this week and, if successful, FFM members said they intended to submit further evidence, a final report and a confidential list of individual suspects to the council next year.