Demands for Immediate Investigation into Mass Graves in Tarhuna, Libya

A mass grave in Tarhuna. (General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons)
A mass grave in Tarhuna. (General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons)
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Demands for Immediate Investigation into Mass Graves in Tarhuna, Libya

A mass grave in Tarhuna. (General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons)
A mass grave in Tarhuna. (General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons)

Libya's General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons announced the discovery of a new mass grave in the southwestern city of Tarhuna.

The Authority recovered an unidentified body from one of the graves found in the agricultural project in Tarhuna.

Political and human rights activists called for an immediate investigation into the discovery, demanding holding those responsible accountable.

The Authority added that it would continue to examine all the reports it received about the missing persons during the past months, pointing out that it had previously taken 1,349 DNA samples from their families.

Tarhuna MP Abu Bakr Said said that in light of this tragic situation and the daily discovery of mass graves, "the Presidential Council and the Government should declare a state of emergency in Tarhuna."

He urged authorities to apprehend the "perpetrators of these heinous crimes."

The head of the Authority, Kamal al-Siwi, accompanied by some officials from the body, visited the city of Zintan last week to discuss the issue of the missing persons, clarify the mechanism of the commission's work, and facilitate the procedures for the families.

Libyan human rights groups have called on the UN to urge all Libyan parties to expedite the investigation into the discovery of mass graves in Tarhuna.

The United Nations Mission to Libya (UNSMIL) urged the "rapid and transparent" investigation into the extrajudicial killings.



Syrian Opposition March Through the Capital in a Show of Force

A drone view of a military parade held by Khaled Brigade, a part of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Damascus, Syria, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano
A drone view of a military parade held by Khaled Brigade, a part of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Damascus, Syria, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano
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Syrian Opposition March Through the Capital in a Show of Force

A drone view of a military parade held by Khaled Brigade, a part of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Damascus, Syria, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano
A drone view of a military parade held by Khaled Brigade, a part of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Damascus, Syria, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano

Hundreds of members of the main opposition group that overthrew former President Bashar Assad from power marched through the streets of the capital in a show of force.
The fighters with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, gathered at the Abbasiyeen square on Friday afternoon before driving vehicles mounted with heavy machine guns through different neighborhoods of Damascus.
The show of force by HTS came days after members of Assad’s minority Alawite sect protested in different parts of the country, leading to exchanges of fire in some areas.
Until Assad’s fall earlier this month, Alawites held senior positions in the military and security agencies in Syria. HTS fighters are Sunni Muslims who are the majority sect in the country.