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By Sami Zaptia.
London, 30 June 2019:
Libya’s internationally-recognized parliament, the House of Representatives (HoR), condemned what it referred to as the “liquidation” of Libyan National Army (LNA) war injured and prisoners in Gharian.
The condemnation statement released yesterday came in reaction to claims of the “liquidation” of some LNA troops by pro internationally recognized Libyan government forces.
This allegedly took place after the pro Tripoli forces pushed back the pro Hafter forces from the mountain city of Gharian in a surprise attack.
In its statement, the HoR said it “strongly condemned the cowardly terrorist crime” carried out by the “extremist terrorists” of the Faiez Serraj government for the “liquidation of LNA forces in Gharian hospital” in a move it called “totally removed from humanitarian values”.
The HoR also condemned Turkish “intervention” and Turkey’s “declaration of war” on Libya through its participation in the operations of the extremists militias by fighting against the LNA and through its supply of arms and logistical support.
The HoR also noted the “sorry silence” of the UN and international community on the matter.
The HoR said that the support of Turkey and Qatar for the extremist, terrorist militias of Tripoli will not stop it from pursuing and cleansing Libya of terrorism, extremism and the public money-grabbing, people-smuggling militias – as they did in Benghazi, the oilfields, Derna, south Libya and western Libya.
This effort, the HoR statement added, is in pursuit of an honourable life for Libyans and the establishment of security and stability and the re-establishment of the state.
The Faiez Serraj-led Presidency Council and Government of National Accord, meanwhile, has denied the allegation. It said that its Emergency Committee visited Gharian hospital where LNA troops were receiving normal medical treatment.
It accused the Hafter side of fabricating the accusations as a distraction from its heavy defeat in Gharian.
It invited international independent observers to visit Gharian to establish the facts.
It will be recalled that while the HoR accuses the Tripoli government of receiving military and logistic help from Turkey and Qatar, the Khalifa Hafter led forces are also accused of receiving military and logistic help from Egypt and the UAE.
Equally, the LNA forces have also been accused over the years of conduct that falls below “humanitarian values” in its war efforts in Benghazi and Derna.
For example, on 8 May 2019, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the UN Security Council that Libya’s “Failure to arrest and surrender persons against whom warrants of arrest have been issued can result in real harm”.
She added that “This is starkly illustrated by the case of Mr Al-Werfalli. Despite the ICC warrant of arrest against him for the war crime of murder in relation to 33 people, Mr Al-Werfalli remains at liberty and allegedly murdered another 10 victims just five months after the ICC arrest warrant was issued.
Today, two warrants for his arrest remain outstanding. The fact that Mr Al-Werfalli is in Libya is well-known. He is not detained and there is no evidence that he has been genuinely prosecuted in Libya by his superiors in the Libyan National Army”, Bensouda had concluded.
It must also be recalled that the Tripoli aligned forces were accused of the 18 May 2017 Brak Al-Shatti massacre when over 130 LNA-aligned troops were allegedly executed or beheaded. The Serraj Presidency Council had denied any connection to the act.
Updated: Serraj government denies HoR allegations and invites independent observers to Gharian.
ICC takes Libya seriously, calls for implementation of arrest warrants
Massacre reported as Misratans and BDB take Brak Al-Shatti airbase
