UN slams revenge killings

TRIPOLI: The UN has said it is “appalled” at apparent revenge killings that are taking place in Libya following the report of eight bodies found in the eastern cities of Benghazi and Derna, it was reported.

Five bloodied and mutilated corpses were found lying in the dirt in Benghazi’s Laithi neighbourhood on Friday.

Following the grisly find, security officials in Benghazi refused to comment but locals reported notes on the bodies accusing them of Islamist sympathies.

There have been a number of other cases of bodies found in Benghazi with gunshot wounds and other signs of abuse.

In Derna, 250km east of Benghazi, the bodies of three people who appeared to have been summarily killed were found dumped in the city on Thursday, medical sources said.

“The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSmil) is appalled by new reports of retribution killings in Libya,” the UN’s Libya mission said on its Twitter account.

“The brutal pattern of violence must end. Those in effective control of fighters and those ordering and committing such crimes are liable under international law.”

These developments followed a twin car bombing in Benghazi last Tuesday which killed 35 people and injured dozens more, while on Wednesday photos and videos showed the summary execution of 10 prisoners outside the mosque where the bombing took place.

Army chief Khalifa Hafter’s self-declared Libyan National Army (LNA) controls Benghazi.

His forces have been involved in the fight against Islamists, and other opponents, from 2014 until late 2017 as part of wider conflict tearing the North African country apart since the Arab spring of 2011 overthrew the government of the late Muammar Gaddafi.

In Derna, the LNA has long been battling the Derna Mujahideen Shura Council (DMSC), an armed alliance that controls the city.

Earlier in the week the DMSC said it had arrested three people for allegedly plotting attacks on behalf of the LNA.