Two more mass graves have been discovered in the city of Tarhuna, freed from the forces of putschist general Khalifa Haftar, Libyan authorities said on Wednesday.
According to a statement from the government’s institution for searching and determining missing individuals, two more mass graves were discovered in the countryside and work is underway to determine more graves.
Authorities did not say how many bodies were found in the graves.
According to official sources from Libya, Haftar’s forces and affiliated militias committed war crimes and genocide during the period April 2019 to June 2020.
To date, over 140 bodies have been excavated in a slow process that began in June 2020 after the city was captured from eastern-based forces loyal to the warlord Haftar. Kaniyat had first supported the internationally recognized National Accord Government (GNA) based in Tripoli, which was mainly supported by Turkey and Qatar.
But when Haftar’s forces used Tarhuna as a starting point for an offensive against the capital in April 2019, Kaniyat changed his loyalty. They chose the losing side.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) says at least 338 people were abducted or reported missing during Kaniyat’s five-year rule. “Residents reported that the militia often abducted, arrested, tortured, killed and (caused) the disappearance of people who opposed them or were suspected of doing so,” HRW said.
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