Britain on Thursday announced sanctions on the Kaniyat militia, which is allegedly behind a spate of gruesome murders, kidnapping and torture of civilians in Libya.
London placed restrictions on the group and its leaders Mohamed al-Kani and Abdurahem al-Kani for what it said was a reign of terror in the town of Tarhuna, southeast of Tripoli.
Middle East and North Africa minister James Cleverly said the militia was responsible for enforced disappearances, torture and the killing of civilians. These new sanctions send a clear message that those responsible for serious human rights violations or breaches of international humanitarian law in Libya will face consequences, he said in a statement.
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By Sami Zaptia.
London, 9 January 2021:
Hundreds of residents of the Libyan town Tarhuna were abducted or reported missing between 2014 and 2020, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report on Thursday (7 December).
Libya’s internationally recognized government in Tripoli reported that they have so far discovered 27 mass graves in Tarhuna since June, but that they have yet to identify the bodies.
The Tripoli-based Public Authority for Search and Identification of Missing Persons said at least 338 residents of Tarhuna were reported missing after the local al-Kani militia, also known as al-Kaniyat, took control of the town in 2015,
Residents reported that the militia often abducted, detained, tortured, killed, and disappeared people who opposed them or who were suspected of doing so. Some said the militia seized private property and stole their money, HRW reported.
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