The Amnesty International Report about Libya:
30 September 2016, 17:49 UTC
Fears are growing for hundreds of civilians who are
trapped in a Benghazi neighbourhood which faces intensified fighting after
several months under military blockade, Amnesty International said today.
The organization has gathered testimony from some of
the 130 Libyan families and hundreds of foreign nationals who have been trapped
for months in the residential district of Ganfouda, in south-west Benghazi. All
entry roads are blocked by the fighting or Libyan National Army forces, and
food, water and electricity supplies have been cut off.
“Time is running out for civilians in Ganfouda, who
are being left to die trapped by the fighting. While bombs and shells continue
to rain down on them, civilians are struggling to survive on rotten food and
dirty water. And the sick and wounded must make do with dwindling supplies of
expired medicines,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Director of the Middle East
and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International.
"Time is
running out for civilians in Ganfouda, who are being left to die trapped by the
fighting. While bombs and shells continue to rain down on them, civilians are
struggling to survive on rotten food and dirty water"
Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Director of the Middle
East and
North Africa Programme at Amnesty International
North Africa Programme at Amnesty International
“As the airstrikes intensify and the fighting moves
ever closer, many people are too afraid to leave their homes. We are urging all
parties to the fighting in Benghazi to respect international humanitarian law
and allow unfettered access to humanitarian relief for civilians in need. Those
who wish to leave must be protected from any attacks based on where they are
from or their perceived political affiliation.”
A military offensive named Operation Dignity was
launched in mid-2014 by former General Khalifa Haftar against Islamist militias
and armed groups in Benghazi, which later formed a coalition known as the Shura
Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries (SCBR). During fighting in the city, both
sides have committed serious human rights abuses and violations of
international humanitarian law, in some cases amounting to war crimes.
Two years on, the Libyan National Army under Khalifa
Haftar’s command has continued to carry out repeated air strikes on areas under
SCBR control in Benghazi - namely Ganfouda and other smaller pockets in the
city - endangering the lives of civilians. General Khalifa Haftar’s forces have
also restricted entry to, and departure from Ganfouda, leaving many people
pinned down by airstrikes.
Mohamed, a resident of Ganfouda, told Amnesty
International that airstrikes and artillery shelling have intensified and moved
closer over the past week. He spoke of the desperate need for humanitarian
supplies, especially for children.
“Children look like skin and bones because of the lack
of food and poor nutrition… If they could just drop us some food for the
children or get them out of here, even if that meant leaving the rest of us,
that would be fine,” he said.
" Children look
like skin and bones because of the lack of food and poor nutrition"
He described how the flour, rice and oil available had
all expired, and how lack of cooking fuel meant they had to cook in a
wheelbarrow filled with coal. Mohamed has a kidney problem, but the medicine he
needs to treat this has run out.
Mohamed took in eight other families who fled the
fighting and around 45 people, including 23 children, are now living in
terribly cramped conditions in his house.
“There are no fighters amongst us: we’re just normal
civilians,” he said.
He described how constant, indiscriminate shelling and
lack of electricity, which has been cut for over two years, leaves them huddled
at home in the dark. “It’s like we’re in prison,” he said.
“We just want a safe way to leave,” said “Waleed”,
another resident trapped in Ganfouda, whose name has been changed to protect
his identity.
“I have two sons, one is three and a half and the
other is two years old. There is no baby milk or food for them. I have to fill
bottles with water and fool them into thinking it’s milk.”
As well as the lack of basic supplies which make daily
life so difficult, people are also living in constant fear of airstrikes and
shelling, with many saying they are too scared to leave their homes. One of the
civilians Amnesty International had been in contact with inside Ganfouda, Tarik
Gaoda, was killed on 1 July 2016 alongside his 80-year-old father. They
perished as a result of a fatal air strike, according to an eyewitness who did
not want to be named for security reasons.
“Planes are patrolling the skies and people are scared
to even walk outside because any area where they see movement, they strike.
Even a mosque was hit by shelling a few months ago,” said “Hassan”.
“There are constant airstrikes, and we don’t leave our
houses at all,” said “Khadija”, a woman trapped with her four young children
including a 10-month-old girl who she was forced to give birth to at home
because of the fighting. She has no baby powder or medical supplies for her
daughter, and the lack of clean water is becoming a serious concern.
“All the
warring parties must take all feasible precautions to protect the lives of
civilians caught up in the fighting in Ganfouda and other parts of Libya in
line with their obligations under international humanitarian law,” said
Magdalena Mughrabi.
“Indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks are
prohibited by international law and every effort must be made to distinguish
between military targets and civilians or civilian homes and buildings. Artillery and other imprecise explosive
weapons with wide area effects should never be used in the vicinity of densely
populated civilian areas.”
Amnesty International has expressed concern for an
estimated 130 detainees who were abducted by the armed group Ansar al-Sharia in
2014 and are also trapped under fire in Benghazi. Recent media reports, which
have not been independently verified, suggest that as many as 20 detainees may
have been killed in airstrikes, with photos of their dead bodies shared online.
Hundreds of foreign nationals, including Sudanese, Chadian
and Bangladeshi migrant workers are believed to be amongst those trapped in
Ganfouda. According to media reports, at least five Sudanese nationals were
killed in an airstrike in mid-August. Ganfouda residents interviewed by Amnesty
International have also said that foreign nationals were amongst those killed
in recent airstrikes.
“ We’re
living like animals”
“We’re living like animals,” said “Samir”, another
resident and former judicial police officer who lives in Ganfouda with his
wife, three sons and a one year old daughter. He has also taken in three other
families who were displaced by the conflict– bringing the number of people
living in their household to 24, including 14 children.
“Our house has been hit and damaged by three tank
shells. One hit the bedroom, another the stairs, while the third shell hit the
kitchen but did not explode. The shell is still there and intact,” he said,
adding that at least six families have had loved ones killed in airstrikes in
August. Two of the families were from Chad.
Lack of a phone signal in many parts of Ganfouda has
made it difficult for those trapped to make contact with the outside world,
meaning their relatives do not know whether they have survived.
Civilians are also scared that they may be subjected
to attacks based on their perceived support for SCBR forces, after a tribal
leader affiliated with Operation Dignity stated at the end of August that any
person over the age of 14 should not be allowed to leave Ganfouda alive.
“All sides should be facilitating the delivery of aid
and granting civilians who wish to leave the area safe passage. Civilians
should not be used as human shields, and those who wish to leave must be
protected from arbitrary detention, torture or any other abuses, “said
Magdalena Mughrabi.
