Libya urges UNSC to refer Tarhuna mass graves to ICC

TRIPOLI-Anadolu Agency

Libya’s foreign minister on June 14 urged the U.N. Security Council to refer mass graves discovered in the city of Tarhuna to the International Criminal Court.

According to a written statement published by the Foreign Ministry on its Facebook account, Mohamed Siala sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council.

He said that they had found 11 mass graves, in which some people, including women and children, were buried alive, in Tarhuna, a city liberated from Haftar's militias on June 5.

Siala, in his letter, asked the Hague-based court to initiate the necessary steps to probe the crimes committed by Haftar’s militias.

“The U.N. Security Council this time must adopt a determined stance against violations which were committed by Haftar’s militias and could be counted as crimes against humanity,” he said.

According to U.N. figures, eight mass graves have been found in Libya recently, mostly in Tarhuna.

The Libyan army has recently inflicted heavy blows to the renegade commander and liberated Tripoli and Tarhuna from his militants.

The internationally recognized Libyan government has been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with more than 1,000 killed in the violence.

The government launched Operation Peace Storm in March to counter attacks on the capital and recently regained strategic locations, including Al-Watiya airbase.

Libya's government was founded in 2015 under a U.N.-led agreement, but efforts for a long-term political settlement failed due to the military offensive by Haftar’s forces.