Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Covering Up A War Crime In Libya

Volunteers in Surt removed bodies of people apparently killed in reprisal by anti-Qaddafi militias. Many had their hands bound and had been shot in the head. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

In Libya, Massacre Site Is Cleaned Up, Not Investigated -- New York Times

SURT, Libya — In the parched garden of the Mahari Hotel, volunteers on Monday scrubbed signs of a recent massacre. They collected dozens of bodies, apparently of people executed on the hotel grounds several days ago, but left other evidence behind, like the plastic ties that were used to bind the hands of victims and shell casings, scattered on the dead grass in patches of blood.

The volunteers said the victims included at least two former Qaddafi government officials, local loyalist fighters and maybe civilians. The killers, they believed, were former rebel fighters, belonging to anti-Qaddafi units that had used the hotel as a base in recent weeks. It appeared to be one of the worst massacres of the eight-month conflict, but days after it occurred, no one from Libya’s new government had come to investigate.

Read more ....

More News On The Massacre At Sirte

Bodies of Gaddafi supporters 'found executed' in Sirte -- BBC
Libya's NTC urged to probe 53 Sirte deaths -- Yahoo News/AFP
Rights Group to NTC: Probe Apparent Mass Execution -- Voice of America
One of Libya's worst massacre sites 'cleaned' without investigation -- ANI

My Comment: The new Libyan government will probably investigate these crimes in the future, but for now .... their priority is controlling the country and confiscating the unsecured heavy weapons that are now lying around everywhere.

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