Introduction:

The Monitoring and Documentation Department has worked throughout this month on observing, monitoring, and documenting human rights violations against civilians across Libya. The monitoring team recorded the retrieval of twenty-one (21) unidentified bodies belonging to migrants on the shores of the cities of Sabratha, Zliten, Sorman, Brega, and Al-Zawiya. The team also monitored the arbitrary detention of ten (10) civilians in the cities of Tripoli, Ajdabiya, and Sirte, and recorded the killing of seven (7) civilians, including four (4) migrants, as well as the injury of a child due to armed clashes in Tripoli.

The LCW emphasizes that these figures represent only those incidents that were monitored and verified by the team on the ground and do not necessarily reflect the total scale of violations.

Details:

August 3rd:

The LCW recorded the discovery of three (3) unidentified bodies near the Deela Fishing Port in the city of Al-Zawiya between August 1 and 3. The bodies were retrieved by the Al-Zawiya branch of the Libyan Red Crescent and handed over to Al-Zawiya Hospital to complete the necessary procedures.

August 6th:

The LCW monitored the retrieval of two (2) unidentified bodies believed to belong to migrants. The bodies were found near the seashore in the city of Sabratha and were retrieved by the Sabratha branch of the Libyan Red Crescent and transported to the city’s hospital.

On the same date, August 6, the LCW also monitored the discovery of one (1) unidentified body near the seashore west of the city of Brega. It is believed to belong to a male migrant in his thirties. Local authorities announced the retrieval of the body and its transfer to Al-Muhammad Al-Maqrif Hospital in the city of Ajdabiya for forensic examination.

August 9th:

The LCW monitored the injury of a 10-year-old child inside his home by shrapnel from a bullet during clashes that erupted in Tajoura, east of Tripoli. The clashes were between the Al-Shahida Sabriyah Brigade and the Rahba Al-Doruaa’ Brigade, both affiliated with the General Staff of the Government of National Unity (GNU).

August 10th:

The LCW monitored the arrest of two (2) employees of the National Center for Animal Health by the 166th Infantry Brigade of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) after being stopped at a security checkpoint near the city of Ajdabiya. The employees were travelling from Tripoli to deliver veterinary medical vaccines to the centre’s branches in eastern Libyan cities. They were subjected to verbal and physical assault and then transferred to the Internal Security Agency (ISA) prison in Benghazi. They were released after three days following social mediation efforts.

August 13th:

The LCW monitored the retrieval of eight (8) decomposed unidentified bodies found beneath a destroyed building in the Al-Giza Al-Bahriya neighbourhood of Sirte. These bodies date back to the period of the war between the Islamic State and the Libyan army in the city in 2014. The General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons (GASIMP) transferred the bodies to Ibn Sina Hospital in Sirte for DNA sampling and matching with the missing persons database.

August 14th:

The LCW monitored the arrest of Othman Baltayeb Gaddafi and Hamad Al-Raqoubi Gaddafi by the ISA in Sirte, due to their support for Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi. They were taken to the ISA’s prison in Benghazi, and communication with them has been lost since then.

August 18th:

The LCW monitored the arrest of Musab Mohamed Msallem, the Director of Information Technology at the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), on Sunday, August 18. He was detained by armed individuals affiliated with the ISA, who was driving a black civilian Jeep near his home in the Andalus neighbourhood in central Tripoli. Contact with him was lost for several hours before he was released later that evening.

On the same date, the LCW monitored the death of four (4) Nigerian migrants and two (2) Libyans following an explosion of munitions inside the Al-Shahida Sabriyah Brigade Camp in the Tajoura. The incident occurred while they were collecting scrap iron, copper, and war remnants after clashes between the Al-Shahida Sabriyah Brigade and the Rahba Al-Doruaa’ Brigade. The clashes ended with the latter’s control of the camp, its evacuation, and the demolition of the buildings inside.

August 19th:

The LCW monitored the death of Abu Ajila Mohamed Al-Nafati, 55 years old, who succumbed to his injuries from a stray bullet while he was near the site of armed clashes between the Al-Shahida Sabriyah Brigade and the Rahba Al-Doruaa’ Brigade, both affiliated with the General Staff of the GNU, in Tajoura on August 9.

August 23th:

The LCW monitored the retrieval of nine (9) decomposed unidentified bodies, believed to belong to migrants, found on the shores of Sabratha, Al-Zawiya, and Sorman between August 22 and 23. This coincided with reports of a sinking boat carrying migrants off the coast of Sabratha that was heading to Europe.

August 25th:

The LCW monitored the arrest of five (5) employees of the CBL in Tripoli by the ISA affiliated with the Libyan Presidential Council. Four of them were detained near the CBL building, while the fifth was arrested while on his way to the Libyan Public Prosecutor’s office. All five were released after three days of arbitrary detention.

On the same date, the LCW also reported the discovery of two (2) bodies off the coast of Zliten, believed to belong to migrants. The bodies were found one day after the sinking of a boat carrying 35 migrants heading towards Europe.

August 29th:

The LCW monitored four (4) unidentified bodies, including one woman, found in various locations along the shores of Sabratha between August 26 and 29. It is believed that these bodies belong to migrants whose boats sank while travelling from Libya towards Europe.

Recommendations:

• The Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) calls on the GNU, the Libyan Presidential Council, and the authorities in eastern Libya, including the House of Representatives and the General Command of the LAAF, to halt arbitrary arrest and detention campaigns, respect their international obligations, and demands the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained individuals and the disclosure of the fate of those who are forcibly disappeared.

• The LCW renews its call for Libyan authorities to take responsibility for saving the lives of migrants along migration routes and at sea. It urges the establishment of effective search and rescue mechanisms to prevent migrant deaths, locate missing persons, and identify them.

• The LCW urges the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to put pressure on all parties in Libya to respect human rights and international humanitarian law, work towards transitional justice and national reconciliation, and end impunity.

• The LCW urges the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to reconsider its decision to halt investigations in Libya by the end of 2025, to ensure that perpetrators do not escape justice.