On 30 August, the Human Rights Service of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the UN Human Rights Office published a report which describes how the Al-Kaniyat, an armed element which emerged in 2011, later exercised brutal control over Tarhuna, a city of some 150,000 people 90 km southeast of Tripoli. The report details killings, disappearances, sexual violence, abductions, torture, ill-treatment, forced displacement and other gross human rights violations and abuses, as well as serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by the Al-Kaniyat between 2013 and 2022.
The report warned that the continued lack of accountability and years of impunity enjoyed by those behind the human rights violations and abuses committed in the Libyan city of Tarhuna between 2013 and 2022 risk fuelling more instability and further division in the country. It noted that that the Al-Kaniyat’s integration into the former Government of National Accord (GNA) and later the Libyan National Army (LNA) has been a significant barrier to accountability and justice. As a result, it adds, some residents have been hesitant to get involved in investigations and report crimes for fear of reprisals.