By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 23 February 2015:
Egypt’s bombing attack on Derna last week resulted in the death of seven civilians because, . . .[restrict]said Amnesty International, Egypt “failed to take the necessary precautions” in carrying out the attack. The human rights body repeated its calls for the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged war crimes in Libya.
Amnesty today called for the Egyptian government to release details of the planning for the attack as well as the attack itself, essentially asking the government to prove that it had taken measures to prevent civilian casualties.
“Egypt has now joined the ranks of those placing civilians at risk in Libya. The killing of seven civilians, six of them in their own homes, must be investigated, as it appears to have been disproportionate,” said Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.
Amnesty cited eyewitness reports from residents in the “heavily-populated” residential area where two missiles hit, destroying homes and cars and killing seven, including a mother and three of her children. The organisation alleged that contrary to Egyptian and Libyan authorities, it “could not determine whether a legitimate military target was located in the area.
The Amnesty report gave details of several of those who were killed and the damage sustained by homes and cars. It also quoted the director a hospital in Derna who said that the medical facility had treated 17 residents who were injured by the explosions. He added that among the dead and injured seen at the hospital, none were militants.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has denied the targeting of civilian targets. Furthermore, he claimed that the air strikes were carried out using meticulous reconnaissance and intelligence.
Amnesty expressed its concern that “civilians are increasingly bearing the brunt of reprisal attacks as violence in Libya escalates,” mentioning Friday’s suicide bombings in Guba .
Amnesty recalled that it had previously documented and reported on Operation Dignity attacks that killed civilians, mentioning operations in Ben Jawad and Zuwara.
“Civilians in Libya are in mortal danger as retaliatory attacks by all sides spiral even further out of control,” said Sahraoui.
Amnesty called for all parties to take “all feasible precautions to spare civilians” in any future attacks and to refrain from assaults “which are indiscriminate or disproportionate,” also recommending that civilians are given advance warning of military operations.
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