Summary
March 2026 witnessed grave violations across eastern, western, and southern Libya, some of which may amount to international crimes under international criminal law (ICL). These violations included civilian casualties resulting from military operations, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment, and the continued loss of migrant lives along migration routes. Such violations are attributable in part to the persistent failure of authorities in both eastern and western Libya to ensure accountability and to the continued prevailing climate of impunity.
During the reporting period, the field team at Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) documented the deaths of two (2) civilians and injuries to two (2) others as a result of armed clashes that erupted in residential areas and the detonation of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) in the cities of Al-Zawiyah and Al-Ajaylat. The team further documented the deaths of two (2) men and the injury of one (1) other following incidents of direct gunfire and death under torture in the cities of Murzuq and Al-Zawiyah, as well as the recovery of two (2) bodies from a site believed to constitute a mass grave in Tripoli.
With respect to arbitrary detention, the field team documented the arrest and enforced disappearance of four (4) civilians in the cities of Murzuq, Al-Kufrah, and Misrata, among them two social media activists, in connection with the expression of views critical of or dissenting from the positions of authorities in eastern and western Libya.
The reporting period also saw a continuation of migrant deaths along smuggling and human trafficking routes, in the absence of effective rescue operations and adequate protection guarantees on the part of the relevant authorities. The field team recorded the recovery of fourteen (14) bodies believed to be those of migrants, including one female child, on coastlines and in desert areas across the cities of Tobruk, Ajdabiya, Derna, Misrata, Tripoli, Al-Zawiyah, and Wadi Al-Shatii.
Based on analysis of its monitoring and documentation database, LCW finds that authorities in both eastern and western Libya bear direct and indirect responsibility for violations committed during March, including responsibility that may extend to senior command levels. This responsibility encompasses armed groups and security agencies, including the Internal Security Agency (ISA) affiliated with the Libyan Government accredited by the House of Representatives (HoR), the 87th Brigade of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), the Internal Security Agency (ISA) affiliated with the Government of National Unity (GNU), as well as other armed groups and security agencies operating under the latter. Responsibility is established by reference to the command relationships of the perpetrators with these entities, their complicity in the commission of violations, or their failure to prevent such violations and to adopt requisite measures for the protection of victims.
LCW calls upon authorities in eastern and western Libya to take immediate and effective measures to protect civilians from the effects of military operations, to ensure the protection of migrants along migration routes, and to open meaningful investigations into violations committed against them, with a view to ensuring accountability for those responsible. LCW reiterates its call upon the Libyan Attorney General to open urgent and independent investigations into all violations documented during the reporting period, and to hold perpetrators to account as a safeguard against recurrence and in furtherance of efforts to combat impunity.
As in every monthly report, LCW emphasises that the cases contained herein do not necessarily reflect the full scale of violations committed during the reporting period. They are limited to cases that LCW’s field team verified in accordance with its internal documentation methodology, in full compliance with the principles of confidentiality, privacy, informed consent, and publication risk assessment.
DETAILS
March 4
Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) documented the arbitrary arrest of content creator Ahmad Koushi Al-Tabawi (aged 26) in the Al-Souq Street area of the city of Al-Kufrah, on 4 March, carried out by armed personnel affiliated with the Internal Security Agency (ISA) in the city, operating under the Libyan Government accredited by the House of Representatives (HoR). He was subsequently subjected to enforced disappearance, having been transferred to a detention facility overseen by the ISA in the city of Al-Bayda, and thereafter to the Qarnadah prison complex in Shahat. On 7 March, he was released after three days in detention, with no legal proceedings initiated.
On the same date, 4 March, LCW recorded the discovery of one (1) unidentified, decomposed body believed to be that of a migrant, on the coastline in the Al-Dafiniya area of the city of Misrata. The body was recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent, Misrata branch, and transferred to the hospital for the completion of legal procedures.
Also on 4 March, LCW recorded the discovery of one (1) unidentified body believed to be that of a migrant, on the coastline in the Lmarsh area of the city of Ajdabiya. The body was recovered by the Ajdabiya Security Directorate and transferred to Muhammed Al-Maqrif Hospital for the completion of legal procedures.
March 5
On 5 March, LCW documented the discovery of the body of Jamal Ashour Momli Al-Tabawi (aged 24) at Sabha Medical Centre, bearing visible marks of torture. Al-Tabawi had been arbitrarily arrested on 1 March in the Umm Al-Aranib area of the city of Murzuq by the 87th Rapid Intervention Brigade of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), before his body was discovered five days after his enforced disappearance.
On the same date, 5 March, LCW recorded the discovery of one (1) unidentified body believed to be that of a migrant, on the coastline of the city of Tobruk. The body was recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent, Tobruk branch, and handed over to local authorities for the completion of legal procedures.
March 6
LCW documented the killing of Ali Ahmad Al-Hamidi (aged 43) and the injury of Hassan Al-Makhtouf (aged 33), on 6 March, following the interception of their vehicle on the coastal road in the Al-Matrad area, west of the city of Al-Zawiyah, by unidentified armed individuals travelling in a military vehicle. The perpetrators opened fire on Al-Hamidi inside the vehicle, resulting in his death, and subjected Al-Hassan to an assault that caused him fractures. The perpetrators also seized the victims’ mobile phones and a sum of money in their possession. The identity of the perpetrators remains unknown, and no statement or declaration concerning the incident has been issued by the authorities as of the time of publication of this report.
March 7
On 7 March, LCW recorded the discovery of one (1) unidentified body believed to be that of a migrant, on the coastline in the Souq Al-Jum’a area, east of Tripoli. The body was recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent, Tripoli branch, and handed over to local authorities for the completion of legal procedures.
March 14
LCW recorded the discovery of one (1) unidentified body believed to be that of a migrant, on the coastline in the Al-Fanar area of the city of Tripoli, on 14 March. The body was recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent, Tripoli branch, and handed over to the Emergency and Ambulance Service for the completion of legal procedures.
March 18
On 18 March, LCW documented the arbitrary arrest of activist Al-Mahdi Abu Al-Qasim Abd ul Atti (aged 43) in the centre of the city of Misrata, carried out by armed personnel affiliated with the ISA of the Government of National Unity (GNU), before he was transferred to the ISA’s headquarters in the city of Tripoli. All contact with him was severed until his release on 29 March, following eleven days of enforced disappearance.
Al-Mahdi’s arrest occurred hours after he published a video on his official Facebook account in which he criticised the involvement of authorities in western Libya in corruption and oil smuggling activities linked to ARKENU Oil Company, a company owned by the families of Abd Al-Hamid Al-Dabaiba, Prime Minister of the GNU, and Khalifa Haftar, Commander-in-Chief of the LAAF. He further criticised the resulting economic crises and losses.
March 23
LCW documented the discovery of one (1) unidentified body believed to be that of a migrant, on the coastline in the Al-Harsha area of the city of Al-Zawiyah, on 23 March. The body was recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent, Al-Zawiyah branch, and transferred to the hospital for the completion of legal procedures.
March 24
Between 19 and 24 March, LCW recorded the discovery of two (2) unidentified bodies, one of which was that of a female child, on the coastline of the city of Misrata, both believed to be those of migrants. The bodies were recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent, Misrata branch, and transferred to the hospital for the completion of legal procedures.
March 25
On 25 March, LCW documented the killing of Ammar Masoud Al-Zaytouni and the injury of another individual who was with him in the Umm Shuwaisha area of the city of Al-Ajaylat, following the detonation of explosive remnants of war (ERW) discovered within his farm. The explosion resulted in the immediate death of Al-Zaytouni and caused serious injuries to the other individual, who was transferred to the hospital for treatment.
March 27
LCW recorded the discovery of one (1) unidentified body in a desert area in the Barqan region, north of the city of Wadi Al-Shatii, believed to be that of a migrant, on 27 March. The body was recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent, Wadi Al-Shatii branch, and transferred to Barqan Hospital for the completion of legal procedures.
March 28
On 28 March, LCW documented the discovery of the body of Salem Issa Abd Al-Rahman (aged 20), a Sudanese migrant, on the coastline in the Al-Qaraboulli area, east of Tripoli. The body was recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent, Al-Qaraboulli branch, and transferred to Al-Qaraboulli General Hospital for the completion of legal procedures.
March 29
LCW documented the death of Mohammed Al-Bashir Al-Basha (aged 42) on 29 March, several days after sustaining serious injuries from a gunshot wound to the jaw whilst in his vehicle on the coastal road in the city of Al-Zawiyah on 25 March, in the vicinity of armed clashes that erupted in the city. He was transferred to Tunisia for medical treatment, where he subsequently died in hospital four days later.
March 30
On 30 March, LCW recorded the discovery of one (1) unidentified body believed to be that of a migrant, on the coastline at Ispan Port in the city of Al-Zawiyah. The body was recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent, Al-Zawiyah branch, and transferred to the hospital for the completion of legal procedures.
March 31
LCW documented the arbitrary arrest of Naji Bilqasim Miftah Al-Ulywi (aged 58) from the centre of the city of Al-Burayqa, on 31 March, carried out by armed personnel affiliated with the ISA in the city, operating under the Libyan Government accredited by the HoR. The arrest was carried out in connection with his having submitted a complaint to the Libyan Attorney General in Tripoli concerning the arbitrary detention of his brother. Naji was transferred to the Al-Kuwayfiya prison complex in Benghazi, where he remains subjected to enforced disappearance as of the time of publication of this report.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) calls upon authorities in eastern and western Libya to adopt all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of hostilities and indiscriminate attacks within populated areas, and to mitigate the risks posed by explosive remnants of war (ERW). LCW further calls upon the Attorney General to open independent and transparent investigations into indiscriminate attacks on populated areas and civilian infrastructure, and into acts endangering civilian life, to make their findings public, and to ensure accountability for those responsible in accordance with international fair trial standards.
- LCW calls upon authorities in eastern and western Libya to respect the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed under international human rights law (IHRL), including the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly. It further urges them to bring about an immediate cessation of the arbitrary arrest and systematic targeting of activists and dissidents, practices which constitute serious violations of fundamental rights and which entrench a climate of fear whilst compounding a culture of impunity.
- LCW calls upon the Libyan Attorney General to open independent and transparent investigations into all serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, unlawful killings, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, abduction, and conditions within both official and unofficial places of detention, and to ensure accountability for those responsible in accordance with international fair trial standards.
- LCW reiterates its call upon the authorities in Libya to fulfil their responsibility to protect the lives of migrants along migration routes across the desert and at sea, and to cooperate with the relevant international organisations in establishing effective search and rescue mechanisms, in determining the fate of missing persons, and in ensuring the identification of human remains. LCW further calls for the opening of independent and transparent investigations into drowning incidents and violations associated with human trafficking, and for the prosecution of those responsible in a manner consistent with international accountability standards.
- LCW calls upon the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to continue and expand its ongoing investigations into the situation in Libya, and to issue further arrest warrants, in particular in respect of those bearing responsibility at senior levels. LCW further urges the Office to intensify pressure on the authorities in Libya to fulfil their legal obligations to cooperate with the Court, to implement its outstanding arrest warrants, and to surrender those sought, given the continued absence of the will, capacity, and effectiveness of domestic judicial mechanisms, and their inability to conduct investigations and prosecutions consistent with the complementarity requirements of the Rome Statute.
- LCW reiterates its call upon the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) and its Member States to appoint a Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Libya, to fill the gap left by the conclusion of the mandate of the Independent Fact-Finding Mission, and to ensure the continuity of monitoring and investigation of serious violations and the identification of those responsible, in support of accountability processes and in furtherance of efforts to combat impunity.
- LCW calls upon the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and influential States to intensify pressure on all parties to respect human rights, and to work earnestly towards transitional justice, truth-telling, reparations for victims, and the eradication of the climate of impunity that sustains the continuation of violations.
