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UN Experts Accuse Mercenaries of Impeding Libya Elections

The departure of foreign fighters from the country is a “vital precondition” for the peaceful staging of elections scheduled for December, UN experts said. (Reuters file photo)
The departure of foreign fighters from the country is a “vital precondition” for the peaceful staging of elections scheduled for December, UN experts said. (Reuters file photo)
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UN Experts Accuse Mercenaries of Impeding Libya Elections

The departure of foreign fighters from the country is a “vital precondition” for the peaceful staging of elections scheduled for December, UN experts said. (Reuters file photo)
The departure of foreign fighters from the country is a “vital precondition” for the peaceful staging of elections scheduled for December, UN experts said. (Reuters file photo)

UN experts called for all mercenaries and mercenary-related private contractors to leave Libya, saying their departure is long overdue and is a vital precondition to peaceful elections scheduled for later this year.

“Nine months after the ceasefire agreement calling for the withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, mercenaries and private military and security contractors continue to operate in the country,” said the chair of the UN’s Working Group on the use of mercenaries, Jelena Aparac.

The continued recruitment and presence of mercenaries in Libya are impeding “progress in the peace process” and an obstacle to upcoming elections, independent UN human rights experts said on Friday.

Some of the highly armed and well-trained private contractors operating in the country, hailing from Russia, Syria, Sudan, and Chad, meet the criteria for mercenaries, according to the Working Group.

In addition to the dangers they pose within Libya, the independent experts warned that they could also threaten the security and stability of other nations in the region.

The UN experts stressed that these mercenary and mercenary-related actors must leave immediately and that there must be an immediate end to the transfer of military weapons and supplies into Libya.

“We appeal to the international community to take concrete steps to aid this process,” Aparac said.

“If elections are to be held in December 2021 as scheduled, Libyans should be able to undertake that process in a safe and secure environment, and the presence of these actors impedes that,” she added.

In June of last year, the Working Group warned that Libya’s reliance on mercenaries and related actors since 2019 had contributed to an escalation of conflict, undermined the peace process, and breached the UN Security Council’s existing arms embargo.

At that time, they urged governments to investigate all allegations of human rights violations and humanitarian law violations.

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Syrians Circulate Lists of War Crimes Suspects

 The Daraya cemetery, which contains the remains of victims of the 2012 massacre (circulated).
 The Daraya cemetery, which contains the remains of victims of the 2012 massacre (circulated).
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Syrians Circulate Lists of War Crimes Suspects

 The Daraya cemetery, which contains the remains of victims of the 2012 massacre (circulated).
 The Daraya cemetery, which contains the remains of victims of the 2012 massacre (circulated).

The file of individuals implicated in war crimes and human rights violations under the deposed Syrian regime remains one of the most complex challenges facing the new administration in Syria, especially in the absence of official, public lists of wanted persons.
The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria has been investigating war crimes and other violations of international human rights law since the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
Operating remotely, the commission has compiled lists containing approximately 4,000 names of individuals suspected of committing serious crimes. Following his first visit to Syria on January 9, a UN investigator tasked with examining these violations expressed optimism for “productive cooperation” with the new Syrian authorities.
In addition, “Pro Justice,” a Washington-based organization founded in 2019 by Syrian Americans under the sponsorship of defected Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab, previously released a “blacklist” before the fall of the regime, naming 100 high-ranking officials from the former regime accused of war crimes committed since 2011. This remains one of the few publicly documented lists, with detailed files outlining the role of each individual in these crimes.

In December, UN investigators announced confidential lists naming 4,000 individuals responsible for serious crimes in Syria. They emphasized the importance of ensuring accountability at the highest levels following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.
Linnea Arvidsson, coordinator for the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, stated: “It is crucial to hold perpetrators of crimes at the highest levels accountable.”
Since the regime’s fall, dozens of “unofficial” lists have circulated, naming and depicting suspects. One prominent list includes 161 names of senior officers and leaders of the former regime, topped by Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother Maher al-Assad, commander of the Fourth Armored Division.
This division, along with Air Force Intelligence, is accused of committing atrocities such as the Daraya massacre in 2012, the chemical weapons attack in Douma in 2013, and other crimes including drug trafficking and managing detention centers tied to these activities.
Nevertheless, arrests have also been made of individuals not listed in these reports. For example, Brigadier General Riyad Hassan, head of Political Security in Damascus, was arrested on December 27. Other arrests include Hayyan Miya, leader of the National Defense Militia in Latakia, and Aws Salloum, known as “Azrael of Sednaya,” who is accused of brutally executing over 500 detainees during the security campaign in Homs and its countryside.
Similarly, Mohammad Nour al-Din Shalloum, accused of destroying surveillance footage from Sednaya Prison, was detained after the regime’s fall, along with the killing of several prison guards.
On December 26, Syrian military forces successfully killed Shujaa al-Ali, infamously known as the “Butcher of Houla,” during clashes in western rural Homs. Al-Ali, who led the largest militia in the region, had spent the last four years engaging in extortion, kidnapping for ransom, and drug trafficking.
Platforms such as the “Wanted List of Former Regime Officers and Militants,” which emerged after the regime’s collapse, continue to monitor suspects and share their names and alleged crimes, primarily targeting well-known militia leaders in their respective regions.
Civil activist Ayman Ahmad from Homs warns that the unregulated circulation of random, unofficial lists on social media poses a significant threat to civil peace. “These lists are a form of incitement to violence and fearmongering, which only complicates the situation,” he said, pointing out reports of over 1,000 arrests during recent security campaigns in Homs neighborhoods.
He added: “As long as arrests are being made based on lists determined by the new administration, even if those lists are not publicly disclosed, we urge a halt to the dissemination of random, unofficial lists. These lists incite indiscriminate violence and deepen social divisions.”