Mass graves discovered in Libya's Tarhuna, formerly held by Haftar

Two more mass graves were discovered southeast of Libya's capital Tripoli in the city of Tarhuna, formerly held by the putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar.

In a statement over the weekend, the General Authority for Research and Identification of Missing Persons said bodies will be exhumed from the graves on Monday.

Tarhuna, a strategic town some 65 kilometers (41 miles) southeast of the Libyan capital of Tripoli, was under the control of the al-Kaniyat militia, which gained a reputation for its brutal tactics. Led by al-Kani, the militia had initially sworn allegiance to a former government in Tripoli. But it switched sides in the civil war and aligned with the east-based forces of Haftar in 2019.

According to official Libyan sources, Haftar's forces and affiliated militias committed war crimes and acts of genocide in the period between April 2019 and June 2020.

It said the remains of nine bodies were exhumed from the grave and there is no information about the identities of the victims so far.

With the latest discovery, two graves have been found over the past week.

Since June last year, following the defeat of Haftar's forces in the western areas of Libya, the Libyan government has discovered around 300 bodies in mass graves in Tarhuna and south of Tripoli.

The United States Treasury placed al-Kani and his militia under sanctions in November after finding them responsible for killing the civilians whose bodies were discovered in several mass graves in Tarhuna. They also alleged the militia had committed acts of torture, forced disappearances and displacement of civilians.