Libya: Militias Terrorizing Residents of ‘Loyalist’ Town

[Celefin]

Source: Human Rights Watch

(New York) – Militias from the city of Misrata are terrorizing the displaced residents of the nearby town of Tawergha, accusing them of having committed atrocities with Gaddafi forces in Misrata, Human Rights Watch said today. The entire town of 30,000 people is abandoned – some of it ransacked and burned – and Misrata brigade commanders say the residents of Tawergha should never return.

*snip*

“Revenge against the people from Tawergha, whatever the accusations against them, undermines the goal of the Libyan revolution,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “In the new Libya, Tawerghans accused of wrongdoing should be prosecuted based on the law, not subject to vigilante justice."

*snip*

On October 25, Human Rights Watch spoke with a Misrata brigade that claimed to be “guarding” Tawergha. The deputy commander said his forces were “protecting the place from arson and looting.” At the same time, trucks full of furniture and carpets, apparently looted from homes, drove past with men on the trucks honking and waving. Brigade members failed to intervene, arguing passionately that Tawreghans should never return after “what they did in Misrata.”

*snip*

Since the defeat of Gaddafi’s forces, the Tawerghans have reported serious abuses, including arbitrary arrests, beatings, and some killings. Two cousins who fled the town told Human Rights Watch that they were gathering firewood in mid-September near where they were taking refuge in Lode, in the Jufra district, when they were captured by six armed men from a Misrata brigade. The brigade members handcuffed the two men, beat them, shot them, and left them abandoned on the side of the road.

Read more: http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/30/libya-militias-terrorizing-residents-loyalist-town

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Much, much more at the link.

I am NOT defending Gaddafi with this. Please.
But this does not bode well at all.

[mazzarro]

1. Hey Nothing Wrong Here!

The UN (Ultimate Nincompoops) have decided the fate of the civilians worth protecting and those not worth same treatment. So sorry for the Ghaddaffi's civilians - they are condemned to be cast away as rubbish for the new Libya preferred by the victors and their protectors.