Libya: Government Use of Landmines Confirmed (Pic Heavy)

[Turborama]

Source: Human Rights Watch

MARCH 30, 2011 - Muammar Gaddafi's forces have laid both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines during the current conflict with armed opposition groups, Human Rights Watch confirmed today.

"Libya should immediately stop using antipersonnel mines, which most of the world banned years ago," said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch. "Gaddafi's forces should ensure that mines of every type that already have been laid are cleared as soon as possible to avoid civilian casualties."

The mines - two dozen antivehicle mines and roughly three dozen antipersonnel mines - were found on the eastern outskirts of Ajdabiya, a town of 100,000 residents that government forces held from March 17 until March 27, 2011.

Abdal Minam al-Shanti, electricity director for Eastern Libya, told Human Rights Watch that his employees discovered the mines around 11 a.m. on March 28, when their truck ran over and detonated two antipersonnel mines laid underneath power pylons about one kilometer from town. The mines destroyed one front tire and one back tire of the truck, but no one was wounded or killed, al-Shanti said.

Read more: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/03/30/libya-government-use-landmines-confirmed

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Human Rights Watch is a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.


Metal cased antitank mines found in Ajdabiya on March 28, 2011.


A man holds a disarmed metal-cased antitank mine found in Ajdabiya on March 28, 2011. A civil defense team found and disarmed
24 antivehicle mines and an estimated 30 to 40 antipersonnel mines.


Prior to the March 28 discovery of the mines near Ajdabiya, Human Rights Watch had confirmed that government forces left behind
plastic antivehicle mines in the area around Ghar Yunis University in Benghazi during their retreat from the city on March 19.
Those mines, which had not been armed and planted, were founded by local residents and brought to an arms collection point in
downtown Benghazi.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSR8XUYdfXo

And for anyone who still thinks Gaddafi is an OK kinda guy...

Events of 2 years ago sparked current uprising in Libya
A group of families in Benghazi took to the streets two years ago, laying the foundation for the current revolt
by Jo Becker
Published in: Global Post
MARCH 11, 2011
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/03/11/events-2-years-ago-sparked-current-uprising-libya

In fact, what happened 2 years ago was related to something that happened 15 years ago...

Libya: June 1996 Killings at Abu Salim Prison
JUNE 27, 2006
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/06/27/libya-june-1996-killings-abu-salim-prison

Here's a list of Human Rights Watch reports on Libya: http://www.hrw.org/en/by-issue/publications/232

Their Libya homepage: http://www.hrw.org/en/middle-eastn-africa/libya