HRS calls for an Independent Investigation into Serious Violations of IHL in Tarhuna
In a statement published, Monday, 8 June, Human Rights Solidarity (HRS) called for an independent investigation into the grave violations of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law in the city of Tarhuna, committed by armed groups after the forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) seized control of the city on June 5th.
According to information obtained by HRS, including eyewitness testimonies and videotapes, the violations included attacks on residential homes and shops, some properties were destroyed after they were looted. Also, HRS obtained the testimony of an eyewitness who was assaulted and threatened to be killed.
In a phone call with A. M., 26-year-old resident of Tarhuna, he told HRS: “After the forces loyal to GNA entered the city of Tarhuna, an armed group came and knocked on the door of our home, so I opened the door. They immediately forced me at gunpoint, to go with them in a Toyota pickup vehicle, marked with a military emblem ‘al-Somoud Brigade’ on the door. He added “they were five armed men, and in the car, I figured, from their dialect, that they were from Misrata. They ordered me to show them the homes and properties of al-Kani family, so I pointed them to the locations of the properties that I knew. Whenever we arrived at a location, they found another group that has beaten them to it”. The victim claimed that he was beaten and threatened with firing from a rifle[i].
The gunmen returned the victim to his home and when his parents came out, they threatened his father to kill his son if he did not hand over the keys of his car. The gunmen left with the family car. According to the victim’s testimony, the houses next to them were subjected to the same attacks, and armed groups stole five cars from the street where his family lived. According to other testimonies, and videos obtained by HRS, of large-scale theft and looting, a witness accused armed men from the city of Zawiya of lootings.
HRS had previously warned the GNA’s Minister of the Interior, in a letter[ii] sent by the organization to the minister on 22nd May 2020, of “high risks of reprisals and violations”, and called on the minister to exclude “any persons who have grievances, against ‘al-Kaniyat’ militia, from participating in the GNA’s military operations” in Tarhuna and other areas[iii].
“We do not rule out that violations of reprisals have taken place, which are criminal acts according to Libyan Law and International Humanitarian Law, but what we have seen so far, based on eyewitnesses’ accounts and video recordings, the violations consisted of criminal acts of lootings of private homes, commercial stores, cars, and kidnappings, physical assault and the threat of kidnapping, amidst absence of law enforcement authorities”, said Ahmed Mahmoud, a human rights researcher at HRS. he added, “the Minister of Interior announced[iv], more than 7 weeks ago, a plan to secure the city of Tarhuna, but what the city has witnessed, since the GNA forces seized control of it, is the complete absence of law enforcement authorities, which is a serious dereliction of duty on the part of the Ministry of the Interior, leaving citizens at the mercy of criminal elements”.
HRS calls on the Government of National Accord to take urgent actions to secure the city and calls on the Office of the General Attorney to investigate the violations that have taken place, hold perpetrators accountable and compensate the victims. Also, HRS calls for an independent investigation into the failure of the Ministry of Interior to perform its duty.
[i] “In the end, they ordered me out of the car and told me to kneel on my knees, and one of them started firing from a Kalashnikov rifle to my right and left, thinking that I didn’t want to cooperate with them, and maybe the threat of death would force me to change my position. One of them started beating me with his hands and kicking me with his feet.”
[ii] Human Rights Solidarity: “Human Rights Solidarity calls on the Government of National Accord to take Pressing Measures to Prevent Violations of International Humanitarian Law”, May 22, 2020.
[iii] Qasr Bin Gheshir, Souq al-Khamis Msaihil, Souq al-Sabet, Sidi Sayeh and Espia’a.
[iv] Al-Ahrar TV Channel: “Pashaga announces a plan to secure Tarhuna, and pledges that the dialogue between the Libyans will have no place for Haftar” April 23, 2020.
