HRW: GNA Allies Gunned Down Protesters in Tripoli

Human Rights Watch says militias linked to Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) used “machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons” to quell anti-corruption protests in the capital Tripoli last month. It alleges that one person was killed and an indeterminate number wounded in shootings. “These armed groups used heavy weapons and armored vehicles to muzzle dissent,” Hanan Salah, HRW’s senior Libya researcher, was quoted as saying on the group’s website. “The Tripoli authorities should waste no time holding accountable the armed groups’ members and commanders who detained and abused mostly peaceful protesters.” According to HRW, one of the groups maintains ties to the GNA’s Interior Ministry. Protests broke out last month in several cities and towns nationwide, including locales controlled by renegade general Khalifa Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army, which has been seeking to oust the GNA. Citizens say the ongoing civil war has depleted the economy and worsened already tenuous living conditions, and are calling for an end to corruption and accountability for those behind it.