LIBYA WAR CRIMES PROBE: ICC TO SEND TEAM TO INVESTIGATE MASS GRAVES

Thu 10 December 2020:

A delegation from the International Criminal Court (ICC) will visit Libya on Friday to inspect mass graves unearthed in the city of Tarhuna, the Libyan army said Wednesday.

The delegation will also investigate those involved in war crimes in coordination with the Tripoli Prosecutor’s Office, the media office of the government-led Burkan Al-Ghadab (Volcano of Rage) Operation said in a statement.

On July 7, the ICC decided to send a team to investigate war crimes committed by forces loyal to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar in the city, including the issue of mass graves and the planting of booby trap mines by Haftar’s militias.

Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The Government of National Accord was founded in 2015 under a UN-led agreement, but efforts for a long-term political settlement failed due to a military offensive by Haftar’s forces.

The UN recognizes Fayez al-Sarraj’s government as the country’s legitimate authority.

Tripoli has battled Haftar’s militias since April 2019 in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.

In recent months, as Haftar’s militias were forced into retreat by the legitimate government with Turkish security assistance, many mass graves were discovered in areas the militias had controlled.

Turkey also supports the Al-Sarraj-led government.