UNSMIL Human Rights Report documents 9 deaths, 17 injuries in Libya last June

The United Nations Support Mission (UNSMIL) said that in June 2017, it documented 26 civilian casualties – 9 deaths and 17 injuries – during the conduct of hostilities across Libya.

In its Human Rights Report for June 2017, the UNSMIL said that the victims included 6 men killed and 12 injured, 2 women killed and 1 injured and 1 child killed and 4 children injured.

The majority of civilian casualties were caused by gunfire (7 deaths and 12 injuries), followed by Explosive Remnants of War (ERW, 2 deaths) and a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED, 4 injuries). Another civilian sustained a stabbing injury, the report added.

UNSMIL documented 3 deaths and 7 injuries in Benghazi, 2 deaths and 1 injury in al-Zawiya, 1 death and 6 injuries in Sabha, 1 death and 3 injuries in Misrata, 1 death in Tripoli, 1 death in Hun. The civilian casualties included two men killed in crossfire during clashes between armed groups in the city of al-Zawiya on 3 June. On 28 June, a UN staff member sustained a minor injury when a UN convoy came under fire in western al-Zawiya by local gunmen, according to the UNSMIL.

On 6 June, a settlement for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Benghazi in the city of Misrata came under attack by a group of armed men, who shot in the air. A man in the settlement was then stabbed following a verbal dispute. On the same day, a car carrying a Benghazi IDP family came under fire at a roundabout in Misrata by a man allegedly affiliated to a local armed group, resulting in the death of a 38 year old woman, and the injury of her two sons, aged 12 and 8, the report indicated.

In Benghazi, two men were killed as a result of ERWs in the area of Qawarsha in two separate incidents. On 10 June, 4 men were injured in a VBIED attack apparently targeting the mayor of Benghazi. On 26 June, a man died and 6 other civilians (3 men, 2 children and 1 woman) were injured in tribal armed clashes in Sabha.

UNSMIL was unable to determine with certainty which parties to the conflict caused the other civilian casualties in June.

The UNSMIL report also said that during June, two videos emerged on social media depicting the apparent summary executions of 6 men in eastern Libya. In both videos, a Benghazi field commander of the Special Forces, Mahmoud al-Werfalli, who is part of Haftar’s Operation Dignity, is clearly identifiable. The same commander appeared in earlier videos of summary executions.

On 4 June, 7 sub-Saharan African migrants suffocated inside a truck, allegedly after being locked in and abandoned by smugglers in the area of Garabulli. Officials with the Ministry of Interior uncovered the truck with deflated tires, but apparently did not open the doors until hours later once it was towed to Tripoli, the UNSMIL indicated.

On 19 June, the body of a Tawerghan man, who had found shelter at the Tarik al-Matar IDP camp in Tripoli following the 2011 armed conflict, was brought to a Tripoli morgue, bearing signs of beatings and fractures. He has been seized a few days earlier, it explained.