Rights group finds mass grave in Gadhafi hometown

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By KARIN LAUB and KIM GAMEL

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - A human rights groups says it has discovered 53 decomposing bodies, apparently of Moammar Gadhafi loyalists, some of whom may have been executed by revolutionary forces.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said Monday that the discovery in Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte "seems part of a trend of killings, looting and other abuses committed by anti-Gadhafi fighters who consider themselves above the law."

The group urged Libyan authorities to rein in armed groups.

The latest discovery of the grave came to light as Libya's new leaders declared the country liberated, following a brutal eight-month civil war. The declaration was overshadowed by continued questions about whether Gadhafi was executed after capture last week.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20111024/D9QIIRE80.html

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Wahab Al Ghazali of Libya, left, poses next to a poster of Moammar Gadhafi reading "End of Dictator, Libya is Free, Thanks to the Blood of its Martyrs" as they celebrate at Saha Kish Square in Benghazi, Libya, Sunday Oct. 23, 2011 as Libya's transitional government declared the liberation of Libya after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

[dipsydoodle]

1. Libya: Human Rights Watch calls on NTC to probe mass 'executions' as 53 bodies are found

"We found 53 decomposing bodies, apparently Gaddafi supporters, at an abandoned hotel in Sirte," said Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch (HRW), who investigated the killings.

"Some had their hands bound behind their backs when they were shot," he added.

In a statement, the group said: "If the NTC fails to investigate this crime it will signal that those who fought against Gaddafi can do anything without fear of prosecution."

HRW's investigator found the bodies on Sunday at the Hotel Mahari in District 2 of Sirte, an "area of the city that was under the control of anti-Gaddafi fighters from Misurata before the killings took place."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8845636/Libya-Human-Rights-Watch-calls-on-NTC-to-probe-mass-executions-as-53-bodies-are-found.html

What's left of Sirte :



http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/details-of-gaddafis-ignominious-end-shrouded-in-confusion-and-shame/story-e6frg6so-1226174479193

[sybylla]

6. Thanks for the photo of Sirte

I can't imagine not finding a mass grave with 53 bodies after seeing that. How else do you bury your dead after such devastation?

That some of them had their hands bound is troubling. I doubt we'll ever know the truth about what happened. To assume everyone in a mass grave in a war-torn city was "executed" by rebels is human nature, but still a leap of titanic proportions given what's happened there.

Let the investigation proceed. And let's hope they uncover enough evidence to support their findings in a court of law.

[harmonicon]

2. This is what our tax dollars paid for.

This is what a majority (or a vocal minority) on this website has been cheering for. I hope you're fucking happy.

[haikugal]

3. I've never seen so many war mongering democrats.

Obama has more wars going on at one time than we have ever had...our Nobel Peace Prize winning President is following the Bush doctrine step for step. Now we'll attack Africa. Corporate wars for resources payed for by our tax dollars while any and all benefits to the citizens are on the cutting room floor. What have we become?

[harmonicon]

4. What have we become? I have no idea.

I honestly don't understand the thought processes of so many people. Are people so isolated that these things just don't seem real? I don't get it.

[SwampG8r]

5. you have probably seen them before

they used to call them "reagan democrats"
now they are the "third way democrats" or "pragmatic progressive democrats"
its just how republicans who dont want the moral disadvantages of their party line to reflect on themselves act.

[walerosco]

7. Reagan democrats

Talk about an oxymoron

[SwampG8r]

8. they put the

moron in oxymoron

[chill_wind]

9. Not a grave, exactly, according to HRW article

They were found in the open on the grounds of a hotel.

The condition of the bodies suggests the victims were killed approximately one week prior to their discovery, between October 14 and October 19, Human Rights Watch said. The bloodstains on the grass directly below the bodies, bullet holes visible in the ground, and the spent cartridges of AK-47 and FN-1 rifles scattered around the site strongly suggest that some, if not all of the people, were shot and killed in the location where they were discovered, Human Rights Watch said.

All the bodies were in a similar stage of decomposition, suggesting they were killed at the same approximate time. Some of the bodies had their hands tied behind their backs with plastic ties. Others had bandages over serious wounds, suggesting they had been treated for other injuries prior to their deaths.

(...)


Those preparing the bodies said they believed most of the victims were residents of Sirte, some of them Gaddafi supporters. They said that some of the victims had most likely tried to flee from District 2, the last stronghold of Gaddafi loyalists as anti-Gaddafi forces attacked the city. Other victims were possibly released from Ibn Sina Hospital in Sirte, they said, after being treated for conflict-related injuries. The claim that some of the victims had been released from the hospital is consistent with the discovery of bandaged wounds on some of the bodies, Human Rights Watch said.

The Hotel Mahari was apparently in the hands of anti-Gaddafi forces from Misrata before the killings, and it remained in their control until the fighting in Sirte stopped on October 20, Human Rights Watch said.

there are other accounts in there of other discoveries of 23 that might have been executed by pro-Gaddifi forces, as well as some that no one could say either way.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/24/libya-apparent-execution-53-gaddafi-supporters