The United Nations is calling for an independent investigation after the discovery of dozens of bodies and evidence of human rights violations at militia-run detention facilities in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Wednesday he was “shocked” by revelations of gross human rights violations uncovered at sites run by the Libyan militia SSA. He called for the sites to be immediately “sealed off” and for Libyan authorities to conduct “prompt, independent, impartial and transparent investigations.”
Formed in 2021, the SSA (Stabilization Support Apparatus) is an umbrella group of militias that is prominent in western Libya and has faced previous allegations of committing atrocities and human rights abuses in the violence that has wracked Libya since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime more than a decade ago.
“The discoveries confirm the longstanding findings by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the former UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission… regarding the existence of such sites and the extent of violations committed in connection with them, including torture and enforced disappearances,” Türk said.
Reports received by his office between May 18 and May 21 detail the excavation of 10 “charred bodies” at the SSA headquarters in the Abu Salim neighborhood in Tripoli. A further 67 bodies were discovered in refrigerators at Abu Salim and Al Khadra hospitals in the capital, with some of the remains said to be in an advanced state of decomposition due to power outages.
A burial site was also reportedly discovered at the Tripoli Zoo, which is under SSA control. The identities of the victims remain unclear. Alongside the bodies, “suspected instruments of torture and abuse, and potential evidence of extrajudicial killings” were uncovered. “Our worst held fears are being confirmed,” Türk said.
Türk stressed the critical need to preserve evidence. “These sites must be sealed and all potential evidence preserved in support of immediate accountability efforts. Those responsible for these atrocious acts must be brought to justice without delay, in accordance with international standards.”
He expressed concern that Libyan forensic authorities tasked with exhumation and identification have yet to be granted access to the sites, urging full and unimpeded access. Türk also called on Libya to grant the UN access to document the violations as part of its mandate.
The High Commissioner condemned the circulation of “horrifying images and video footage” of the sites on social media, insisting that the “dignity and privacy of the victims and the rights of their families must be respected.”
The grim discoveries follow the killing of SSA leader Abdulghani Kikli in May and subsequent clashes between state security forces and armed groups. These clashes sparked protests demanding an end to violence in Tripoli, which Türk noted were reportedly met with “unnecessary force,” resulting in civilian and police officer deaths and damage to property, including hospitals.
This raises “serious concerns with respect to the guarantee of the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and assembly, as well as the need to protect civic space,” Türk said.
Libya has been entangled in a political crisis since the overthrow of longtime dictator Gaddafi in 2011, which led to the proliferation of armed groups across the country.
Although a ceasefire agreement in October 2020 brought temporary relief, Libya remains divided with various rival armed groups attempting to control the capital.