Washington Slaps Libyan Militia for Human Rights Violations

The United States on Wednesday imposed severe sanctions on the Libyan Kaniyat militia and its leader, Mohamed al-Kani, blacklisting the group and freezing its assets for continued human violations. The unilateral move was made by Washington after last week its proposal in the UN Security Council to sanction the militia was shot down by Russia, which demanded more evidence before coming on board. “Al-Kani and the Kaniyat militia have tortured and killed civilians during a cruel campaign of oppression in Libya,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. Kaniyat soldiers have fought alongside renegade General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) forces in the civil war ravaging the country for nearly a decade. Last month the LNA, backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, and the Government of National Accord (GNA), recognized by the UN, agreed to a cease-fire and have since been conducting surprisingly fruitful peace talks.