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By Rhiannon Smith.
15 August 2012:
On Saturday 11 August, the 23rd Ramadan, a memorial service was held in Tripoli to mark the anniversary . . .[restrict]of the notorious Yarmouk massacre which took place during the final days of the 2011 Libyan Revolution. The 32nd Khamis Brigade, run by Colonel Qaddafi’s son Khamis, were holding prisoners arrested during the revolution in a warehouse adjoining the Yarmouk Military Base just outside Tripoli.
Statements from eyewitnesses and journalists at the time and a subsequent in depth report on the massacre compiled by Physicians for Human Rights in December 2011 confirm that 153 men were being held in the warehouse on 23 August. As it became clear that Qaddafi forces were losing the fight for Tripoli, orders were given for the prisoners in Yarmouk to be executed.
Reports claim that prison guards opened fire on the prisoners and then threw grenades into the warehouse. By the time NTC forces discovered the site three days later, the warehouse had been incinerated. Approximately 50 distinct human remains were discovered, and there were at least 20 known survivors along with prisoners who were released shortly before the massacre occurred.
An association for the victims of the Yarmouk massacre has been set up and they marked the anniversary of this horrific event by inviting the survivors and the families of those killed to a memorial event. In the afternoon the families visited the prison site to read the Quran for the souls of those who died, and members of the association introduced their organisation, their mission statement and their demands.
They want the Ministry of Health to investigate the DNA samples collected shortly after the massacre in order to confirm the deaths of each missing person. The families of those who died would then be able to claim the bodies of their loved ones instead of them being buried in a mass grave. It was stressed that the perpetrators of these killings have not been brought to justice and the organisation want a thorough investigation into the massacre so that justice can be done.
Those who attended then broke fast together, shared stories and tried to comfort one another. Some of the prisoners had not seen each other since they were in prison and the event was charged with emotion.
However, the mood soon became one of anger and frustration as questions were raised about why the government hadn’t done more to identify the bodies of those killed, or to find the perpetrators. Families felt that they had been abandoned by the government in their struggle to find the truth about the deaths of their loved ones.
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