Photos: Seventeen bodies unearthed in Libyan mass graves

GRAPHIC IMAGE WARNING: The graves found are the latest in a string of grim discoveries

Published: November 08, 2020 16:00 AFP and compiled by Balaram Menon, Senior Web Producer

1 of 11

Seventeen bodies have been unearthed in newly found mass graves in western Libya's Tarhuna region, taking the total exhumed in recent months to 112, the missing persons authority said Saturday. Above: Members of the public body leading the "Search and Identification of the Missing," backed by the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), unearthing a mass grave site. Image Credit: AFP

2 of 11

Lotfi Tawfiq, who heads a committee tasked by the Government of National Accord to search for missing people, said five new mass graves containing 17 bodies had been discovered since Thursday. Image Credit: AFP

3 of 11

The graves are located in Tarhuna, from where eastern commander Khalifa Haftar's forces launched an aborted assault last year on the capital Tripoli, seat of the GNA. Image Credit: AFP

4 of 11

The area, some 80 kilometres southeast of Tripoli, served as the main staging point for Haftar's offensive. Image Credit: AFP

5 of 11

The presence of mass graves in Tarhuna was first reported after the withdrawal of Haftar's forces from western Libya in June. Image Credit: AFP

6 of 11

Libya's GNA Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha said the graves represented "atrocious acts" that cannot go "unpunished". Image Credit: AFP

7 of 11

Bashagha said one of the bodies exhumed was Mabrouk Khalaf, a general and former director of information. Image Credit: AFP

8 of 11

The graves found this week are the latest in a string of grim discoveries in Tarhuna, and excavations continue. Image Credit: AFP

9 of 11

Libya, with Africa's largest proven crude oil reserves, has been wracked by conflict for nearly a decade, since the overthrow and killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011. Image Credit: AFP

10 of 11

It has since been dominated by armed groups and divided between two administrations that have long been bitterly-opposed: the GNA in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east backed by Haftar. But the warring factions signed a "permanent ceasefire" last month after UN-sponsored talks in Geneva. Image Credit: AFP

11 of 11

After the deal, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it welcomed the move to peace. Image Credit: AFP

Photos News

Photos: Seventeen bodies unearthed in Libyan mass graves

More From Photos

In pictures: Rain, thundershowers across the UAE

5.3 magnitude earthquake hits Iran, no effect felt in UAE

Photos: Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival kicks off

In Israel, Blinken pushes Netanyahu for sustained aid into Gaza

GULFNEWS SECTIONS

Trending

Photos: Seventeen bodies unearthed in Libyan mass graves

More From Photos

In pictures: Rain, thundershowers across the UAE

5.3 magnitude earthquake hits Iran, no effect felt in UAE

Photos: Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival kicks off

In Israel, Blinken pushes Netanyahu for sustained aid into Gaza

GULFNEWS SECTIONS