(ANSA) – CAIRO, APRIL 27 – At least 130 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by abandoned or unexploded mines and bombs in Libya since the forces of General Khalifa Haftar in June 2020 put an end to the attempt to conquer Tripoli , retreating from the southern outskirts of the capital. Human Right Watch (HRW) estimates this in a report published on its website.
Fighters of the self-styled “Libyan National Army” of which Haftar is commander general and Russian mercenaries of the “Wagner” group, during their retreat, placed anti-personnel mines banned “including improvised explosive devices” (IEDs) activated ;; by the victims and “booby traps” in the southern outskirts of Tripoli, recalls the American organization for the defense of human rights, urging the Libyan government and its international supporters to “intensify efforts to reclaim” the area.
Children were also killed and maimed, said Hanan Salah, HRW director for Libya, adding that mines and bombs have “prevented residents of southern Tripoli from returning home”. “Anti-personnel mines are banned because they indiscriminately kill civilians both during the fighting and long after the conflict has ended,” Salah noted.
During a visit to Tripoli last month, HRW met with the Libyan Ministry of Defense Mine Action Center, which coordinates the clean-up operations. The center indicated that mines and other explosive devices have contaminated 720 million square meters in Tripoli’s southern districts since 2019, causing 200 injuries, deaths and thousands displaced.
Officials from the government, the United Nations and civic groups have said that among the obstacles to clearing the areas are fragmented governance and insufficient coordination between government agencies and humanitarian groups.
(HANDLE).
Source: Ansa
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