A new Human Rights Watch report describes suffering in the Libyan city of Sirte
Militants who pledged allegiance to ISIS, in 2014. — REUTERS
Through
dozens of interviews, some conducted by email and phone, Human Rights
Watch discovered that locals in the Libyan city of Sirte are suffering
from severe atrocities at the hands of the Islamic State and are
deprived of necessities.
“As if beheading and shooting perceived enemies isn’t enough, ISIS is causing terrible suffering in Sirte even for Muslims who follow its rules,” Letta Tayler of Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. “While the world’s attention is focused on atrocities in Syria and Iraq, ISIS is also getting away with murder in Libya.”
Islamic State militants started trickling into Sirte in late 2014 as the terror group saw an opportunity in Libya’s political and security vacuum to more broadly establish a foothold in the Mediterranean nation. Over the next several months, the terror group seized control of life in Sirte and transformed it into an ISIS stronghold.
Militants grabbed the city’s air base and radio station, as well as its main power plant and port. They imposed a harsh version of Islamic law, established at least three jails, and shuttered all banks except for a single one. Now called the House of Islamic Money, it’s only available to ISIS members, Human Rights Watch said in a Wednesday report, which is based on interviews with 45 current and former Sirte residents.
The local population is suffering. Cash, food, medical, and fuel supplies aren’t reaching local residents, but are being redirected to a group of ISIS officials, fighters, and police as big as 1,800-men strong, Human Rights Watch said. Residents seeking to reach others outside the city can only do so through a call center run by ISIS, the rights organization reported.
“There is no food or medicine even for babies,” a former prisoner told HRW.
The terror group has also perpetuated its hallmark pattern of extreme brutality. ISIS decapitated people believed to be enemies with swords in a public square, and shot others in the head. Militants have executed people they’ve considered “spies,” then displayed them for several days at a roundabout, HRW reported.
The terror group also killed jailed fighters and people accused of “crimes” such as sorcery and spying, according to Human Rights Watch, which said ISIS unlawfully killed at least 49 people in and around Sirte from February 2015 to February this year. “The murder of civilians, or wounded or captive fighters by members of a party to an armed conflict is a war crime,” it said. “The nature and scale of ISIS’s unlawful executions and other acts in Libya also may amount to crimes against humanity.”
U.S. officials say there are as many as 6,000 ISIS fighters in Libya, many coming from outside countries including from Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Yemen, and Mali, among other nations, Human Rights Watch said. Washington is considering sending weapons to Libya’s government to fight them.
“As if beheading and shooting perceived enemies isn’t enough, ISIS is causing terrible suffering in Sirte even for Muslims who follow its rules,” Letta Tayler of Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. “While the world’s attention is focused on atrocities in Syria and Iraq, ISIS is also getting away with murder in Libya.”
Islamic State militants started trickling into Sirte in late 2014 as the terror group saw an opportunity in Libya’s political and security vacuum to more broadly establish a foothold in the Mediterranean nation. Over the next several months, the terror group seized control of life in Sirte and transformed it into an ISIS stronghold.
Militants grabbed the city’s air base and radio station, as well as its main power plant and port. They imposed a harsh version of Islamic law, established at least three jails, and shuttered all banks except for a single one. Now called the House of Islamic Money, it’s only available to ISIS members, Human Rights Watch said in a Wednesday report, which is based on interviews with 45 current and former Sirte residents.
The local population is suffering. Cash, food, medical, and fuel supplies aren’t reaching local residents, but are being redirected to a group of ISIS officials, fighters, and police as big as 1,800-men strong, Human Rights Watch said. Residents seeking to reach others outside the city can only do so through a call center run by ISIS, the rights organization reported.
The terror group has also perpetuated its hallmark pattern of extreme brutality. ISIS decapitated people believed to be enemies with swords in a public square, and shot others in the head. Militants have executed people they’ve considered “spies,” then displayed them for several days at a roundabout, HRW reported.
The terror group also killed jailed fighters and people accused of “crimes” such as sorcery and spying, according to Human Rights Watch, which said ISIS unlawfully killed at least 49 people in and around Sirte from February 2015 to February this year. “The murder of civilians, or wounded or captive fighters by members of a party to an armed conflict is a war crime,” it said. “The nature and scale of ISIS’s unlawful executions and other acts in Libya also may amount to crimes against humanity.”
U.S. officials say there are as many as 6,000 ISIS fighters in Libya, many coming from outside countries including from Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Yemen, and Mali, among other nations, Human Rights Watch said. Washington is considering sending weapons to Libya’s government to fight them.
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