War crime claim after bodies found

THE United Nations envoy to Libya has expressed shock after the bodies of 14 people, apparently victims of extrajudicial killings, were found dumped in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Martin Kobler called on authorities to investigate.

He posted on his Twitter account that he is “utterly shocked and dismayed by the summary execution,” which he called a “war crime”.

Libya’s al Wasat newspaper said the bodies were found in a rubbish dump in Benghazi on Thursday.

For the past two years, Benghazi has been rocked by fighting between forces led by General Khalifa Hifter and a coalition of Islamic militias.

Libya has slid into chaos since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi and has become bitterly divided between rival factions and competing governments.