The United Nations is calling for an independent investigation after the discovery of dozens of bodies and evidence of human rights violations at militia-run detention facilities in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he was “shocked” by revelations of gross human rights violations uncovered at sites run by the Libyan militia Stabilization Support Apparatus (SSA). He called for the sites to be immediately “sealed off” and for Libyan authorities to conduct “prompt, independent, impartial and transparent investigations.” Formed in 2021, the SSA is an umbrella group of militias that is prominent in western Libya.
Reports received by his office between May 18 and May 21 detail the excavation of 10 “charred bodies” at the SSA headquarters in the Abu Salim neighborhood in Tripoli. A further 67 bodies were discovered in refrigerators at Abu Salim and Al Khadra hospitals in the capital, with some of the remains said to be in an advanced state of decomposition due to power outages. A burial site was also reportedly discovered at the Tripoli Zoo, which is under SSA control. The identities of the victims remain unclear. Alongside the bodies, “suspected instruments of torture and abuse, and potential evidence of extrajudicial killings” were uncovered.
Türk stressed the critical need to preserve evidence. “These sites must be sealed and all potential evidence preserved in support of immediate accountability efforts. Those responsible for these atrocious acts must be brought to justice without delay, in accordance with international standards.”
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