BBC: War crimes committed by Haftar’s forces shared on Facebook, YouTube

BY Libyan Express May 01, 2019 - 11:12

Mahmoud Al-Werfalli has uploaded many videos of himself executing prisoners and civilians in eastern Libya. [Photo: Social Media]

BBC has aired an investigation finding evidence of alleged war crimes in Libya being widely shared on Facebook and YouTube.

The BBC showed in an episode on Tuesday images and videos on social media of the bodies of fighters and civilians being desecrated by fighters from the self-styled “Libyan National Army”, which is under the command of Khalifa Haftar, who controls a swathe of territory in the east of Libya and is trying to seize the capital, Tripoli.

Most of the videos aired by BBC showed war crimes by Haftar’s forces in Benghazi, Ganfouda and other eastern areas, where many fighters appeared to be committing war crimes, including the fugitive wanted by the International Criminal Court, Mahmoud Al-Werfalli of Al-Saiqa Force.

Under international law the desecration of bodies and posting the images online for propaganda is a war crime.

According to the BBC, the UK Foreign Office says it takes the allegations extremely seriously and is concerned about the impact the recent violence is having on the civilian population.

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