Amnesty International calls for war crimes investigation in Libya

Haftar’s offensive on Tripoli has resulted in unlawful attacks that could amount to war crimes, which must be investigated by international prosecutors, Amnesty International said.

The international rights watchdog revealed evidence of indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas and on migrants in the Libyan capital.

Amnesty said it has gathered witness testimony and analyzed satellite imagery, which indicate that densely populated residential areas in the Abu Salim district of Tripoli were indiscriminately attacked with rockets during an episode of intense fighting April 15-17.

Amnesty International has also documented attacks that have placed the lives of hundreds of refugees and migrants at risk.

“As the battle for Tripoli unfolds, the warring parties have displayed a shameful disregard for civilian safety and international humanitarian law by carrying out indiscriminate attacks on residential neighborhoods,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International.

Such reckless attacks could have devastating consequences for civilians and strengthen the need for the International Criminal Court to expand its investigations into possible war crimes by all sides in Libya’s conflict,” she said.