Libya imperils captives with Benghazi airstrikes, Amnesty says

Cairo (dpa) - Airstrikes by the Libyan army against militias in the eastern city of Benghazi are endangering the lives of detainees being held captive there and could amount to war crimes, rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday.In recent months, Libyan forces loyal to an administration based in the eastern city of Tobruk have intensified their attacks to dislodge Islamist insurgents from Benghazi.Amnesty International cited a video showing three men, reportedly abducted by the extremist group Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi more than two years ago, calling for an end to the airstrikes."Scores of people who were abducted and are being held captive in Benghazi are trapped under fire with no way out," said Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty‘s interim deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme."Carrying out airstrikes in a manner that ignores their presence violates international humanitarian law," she added. The video has been produced by the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, a coalition of militias and armed groups including Ansar al-Sharia, possibly as an attempt to protect their fighters from attack, according to the London-based watchdog."Even if Ansar al-Sharia were intentionally using detainees as human shields, this would not absolve the Libyan National Army of their obligation to take their presence into account and to avoid launching disproportionate or otherwise indiscriminate attacks, which may amount to war crimes," Mughrabi said.Libya has been in turmoil since the 2011 revolt that toppled long-time dictator Moamer Gaddafi.In March, a UN-backed unity government arrived in the Libyan capital Tripoli amid international hopes it will re-establish stability in Libya and stop Islamic State extremist militia from expanding in the oil-rich country.But Tobruk‘s powerful military chief, Khalifa Haftar, and a supportive parliament are still holding out against the Tripoli-based government.