The Libyan Army has discovered some 208 bodies in mass graves between June 5-28, a press statement said Wednesday.
According to the statement by the press office of the government-led Volcano of Rage operation, the army discovered the graves in areas liberated from the forces of putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar in the east.
The statement noted that there are women and children among the bodies currently in the morgue of Tarhuna Hospital and that there were indications of torture on their bodies.
They have identified 15 victims so far, whose bodies have been handed to their families to be buried in Qasr bin Gashr, south of Tripoli, the statement said.
Meanwhile, five more corpses have been discovered in mass graves in Libya's western city of Tarhuna, officials said Tuesday.
According to a statement by the Libyan government team conducting search activities in the area, the five bodies were unearthed during excavation work.
Tarhuna, located around 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of the capital Tripoli, was the last stronghold in western Libya controlled by militias loyal to Haftar before being recaptured in early June by forces allied with the Tripoli-based government. It served as the main stronghold for Haftar’s illegitimate eastern-based forces in their 14-month campaign to capture the capital Tripoli.
The discoveries of mass graves have raised fears about the extent of human rights violations in territories controlled by Haftar’s forces, given the difficulties of documentation in an active war zone.
Libyan authorities announced earlier this month that international efforts are underway to establish a fact-finding committee to investigate violations by Haftar's militias, including planting landmines and digging mass graves as well as other violations in Tripoli and Tarhuna.
