Stop Aggression against the Children in Libya
Mortar shells hit al-Badri area, in the District of al-Hadhba, south of Tripoli, killing three children, and gravely wounding a fourth child[i]. The shells struck the children as they were on their way to school on Tuesday morning, 28 January 2020.
In a previous statement[ii], Human Rights Solidarity (HRS) warned of the increasing number of civilian casualties in general and children in particular during the last months of last year.
Armed confrontations, since the start of the attack, by militias of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, on Tripoli, on 4th April of last year, have killed and maimed 65 children in 2019[iii], two thirds of them (42 victims) were in the last three months[iv]. This January, 5 children were killed, and 3 others were injured in and around Tripoli. The Haftar militia attack has left many schools vulnerable to attacks and endangered students’ lives and led to “closures and left almost 200,000 children out of the classroom”, according a recent statement by UNICEF on Libya[v].
HRS expresses its concerns about the continuation of violence due to its serious psychological effects on children, as a result of living under the constant and random threat to their lives, feeling fearful and insecure, and witnessing destruction, blood and death. The continuation of this violence will have far-reaching negative consequences for an entire generation of Libyan children and for their healthy development.
HRS condemns the targeting of residential neighborhoods and civilians, which is a war crime under International Humanitarian Law, and calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities directed against residential areas and calls for investigation and accountability with view of holding those responsible accountable.
Casualties of the indiscriminate shelling of Al-Hadhba neighborhood, on Tuesday, January 28, were: Anas al-Ghezaiwi (12 years old), Sanad al-Uraibi (10 years) and Zakaria Jamal (9 years) were killed, and Abdul-Malik al-Ghezaiwi (10 years) was injured and he is currently in intensive care.
[i] Libya al-Ahrar TV Channel: “3 children were killed and a fourth is in intensive care, from mortar shelling by Haftar’s militias on al-Hadhba”, 28th January 2020.
[ii] Human Rights Solidarity: “Attacks on Residential Areas and Civilian Facilities is a War Crime”, 8th January 2020.
[iii] Human Rights Solidarity: “Casualties of Armed Clashes in Libya, 2019”, 16 January 2020.
[iv] Human Rights Solidarity: “Categories of Casualties of Armed Clashes in Libya, 2019”, 16 January 2020.
[v] UNICEF: “Libya: Tens of thousands of children at risk amidst violence and chaos of unrelenting conflict”, 17th January 2020. The statement was issued by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. UNICEF stated that “Since April last year when hostilities broke out in Tripoli and western Libya, conditions for thousands of children and the civilians have deteriorated further. Indiscriminate attacks in populated areas have caused hundreds of deaths, and UNICEF has received reports of children being maimed or killed. Children are also being recruited to the fighting. Meanwhile, more than 150,000 people, 90,000 of whom are children, have been forced to flee their homes and are now internally displaced.”, and added “Infrastructure on which children depend for their wellbeing and survival has also come under attack. Nearly 30 health facilities have been damaged in the fighting, forcing 13 to close. Attacks against schools and the threat of violence have led to closures and left almost 200,000 children out of the classroom. Water systems have been attacked and the waste management system has virtually collapsed, greatly increasing the risk of waterborne diseases including cholera.”. Concerning refugees and migrant children, UNICEF said “The 60,000 refugee and migrant children currently in urban areas are also terribly vulnerable, especially the 15,000 who are unaccompanied and those being held in detention centers. These children already had limited access to protection and essential services, so the intensifying conflict has only amplified the risks that they face”.
