By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 1 November 2015:
The National Council for Civil Liberties and Human Rights (NCCLHR) has criticised the international community . . .[restrict]for what says it is its silence on last Tuesday’s helicopter downing west of Janzour in which 19 people died. They included top Libya Dawn military officials as well as ordinary civilians.
Calling for an investigation into what it said was a violation of the Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in time of war, it said the UN had to take “urgent action” to deal with such war crimes and gross violations of human rights in Libya.
Using the terminology of Libya Dawn sympathisers, the NCCLHR indicated that “the so-called Libyan National Army (LNA)” was to blame for the helicopter crash. It referred to claims by LNA spokesman Colonel Mohamed Hijazi although the LNA’s Tripoli operations room, based in Zintan, has denied any involvement, as have Wershefana officials.
Responding to the incident, the UN Support Mission in Libya issued a statement on Wednesday expressing its regret at the loss of life and calling for restraint by those affected.
Previously scrupulously impartial, the NCCLHR, is now seen by international human rights organisations as supporter of the General National Congress (GNC) and the regime in Tripoli.
Meanwhile in a counter-move, the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya, based in Beida and pro-House of Representatives, has demanded the UN act on all human rights abuses in Libya since the beginning of the revolution. It called for UN sanctions – including travel bans and freezing of assets – against anyone involved in such violations. Assassinations and attacks on activists, members of civil society organisations, human rights campaigners, journalists and lawyers were again on the rise, it said, particularly in Tripoli, Sirte, Derna and Benghazi. As a result many people had fleed the country. [/restrict]
