Human Rights Solidarity Organization Calls for International Investigation into Unlawful Killings in Benghazi and Gernada

2 September 2026 – Tripoli, Libya

Human Rights Solidarity (LHRS) expresses deep alarm over credible reports of unlawful killings carried out on 23 and 30 August 2026 inside detention facilities controlled by forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi and Gernada. LHRS has verified the identities of several victims and confirms that these incidents follow public calls for retaliation issued by pro‑Haftar networks after the assassination of Major General Fawzi al‑Mansouri on 10 August.

LHRS has also verified that approximately 25 prisoners of war captured during the 2019–2020 Haftar offensive against Tripoli were being held in detention facilities, run by forces loyal Haftar, prior to the killings. Several were previously paraded on television channels affiliated with Haftar. Their whereabouts since then are unknown, and no public records indicate that any of them appeared before judicial proceedings, raising serious concerns that some may be among the victims of these extrajudicial killings.

LHRS stresses that the killing of detainees without due process and the killing of prisoners of war constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes under the Rome Statute.

LHRS calls for:

A UN‑mandated independent investigation into the killings;
Immediate access for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to all Haftar‑controlled detention facilities;
A public condemnation and intervention by United Nations Support Mission in Libya;
Action by the Government of National Unity to prevent further unlawful killings;
Urgent examination by the ICC Office of the Prosecutor;
Protection of internally displaced persons from forced return to areas under Haftar’s control.
LHRS will continue documenting violations, supporting families of victims, and pursuing accountability through all available international mechanisms.