UN warns of potential war crimes in Libya

The UN human rights office released its joint report on abuses in Libya on Tuesday. The country has been destabilized by violence between rival armed groups since the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Zeid Raad al-Hussein, UN high commissioner for human rights, said there had been hundreds of civilian deaths, widespread displacement of people and serious challenges to daily life for those caught up in the internal conflict.

"As a commander of an armed group, you are criminally liable under international law if you commit or order the commission of grave human rights abuses or fail to take reasonable and necessary measures to prevent or punish their commission," Zeid warned. He also noted at a press briefing in Geneva that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague was investigating the situation in Libya.

Tuesday's joint report was published by the UN human rights office and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). It found there had been indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, and that at least 120,000 people were driven from their homes in the humanitarian crisis.

The report also warned of surging violence across the country since May and widespread human rights violations, including abductions, torture and executions.

The findings were based on evidence gathered between September and mid-December.

The spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, Ravina Shamdasani, told reporters that "violations are continuing with impunity. There has been no effort to stop them.

"Some of these crimes may amount to war crimes," she added.

Divided loyalties amid escalating violence

Libya's worst fighting since the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 has destabilized the North African country, with continuing conflict between two rival governments and several militant groups.

Neighboring nations are also said to be at risk of being destabilized by the chaos under Tripoli's factions and the arms flow from Libya into Africa's Sahel region.

Tuesday's report referred to an escalation in violence in Benghazi since mid-October, where forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar clashed with Islamist militants who had taken control of swathes of Libya's second city.

Deepening humanitarian crisis

In the western Warshafana region, fighting between rival armed groups killed around 100 people and injured up to 500 others between mid-August and mid-October, the report found.

The findings warned of "a humanitarian crisis" with at least 120,000 people displaced in the area, who were facing "severe shortages of food and medical supplies."

Witness accounts to UNSMIL described how hundreds of houses, farms and businesses had been looted, shelled, burned down or bulldozed.

In the capital, Tripoli, the humanitarian situation was reported to have improved since late August, but activists, journalists and public figures continued to be abducted and threatened, the report found.

lw/glb (AP, AFP)