Amnesty urges probe into GNA’s use of ‘heavy machine guns’ against protests

Amnesty International on Wednesday urged the release of protesters abducted when armed men allied with Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) fired live ammunition, “including from heavy machine-guns,” to disperse a demonstration in the capital.

The incident took place on Sunday, when protesters rallied in Tripoli and elsewhere in western Libya against deteriorating economic conditions and corruption. Amnesty said armed men in military uniform opened fire on the crowd without warning, using AK-style rifles and truck-mounted guns.

“The GNA has the responsibility to uphold the right to peaceful protest, protect protesters from those seeking to silence them with live ammunition and address the underlying issues that have led people to come out onto the streets,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“We are calling on the GNA to immediately conduct a thorough, impartial, independent and transparent investigation into the unjustified use of force against protesters, and ensure that all those responsible are held accountable. The whereabouts of all those abducted must be revealed and those detained must be immediately released,” she added.

The GNA’s interior ministry accused “outlawed infiltrators” of firing at the protesters and said an investigation was opened.

The London-based group said that along with the six abducted, several protesters were wounded in the shooting, which happened in an area that’s under control of the Nawasi militia that nominally operates under the UN-supported government in Tripoli.

Amnesty, citing eyewitness accounts and its Nawasi contacts, said there were “strong indications that this militia was behind the attack” on the protesters.

Meanwhile, GNA Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj Monday said in televised comments that the protesters “did not obtain necessary permits” for the rally. In a meeting with military and security officials Wednesday, he described the demonstrations as “riots,” according to a statement from his office. He also announced a 24-hour curfew lasting four days to fight the coronavirus, a move protesters say is meant to stop their continued rallies.

Libya has seen a surge in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, with most of the cases in the country’s west. So far, authorities have reported more than 11,800 cases, including 210 deaths, though the actual numbers are thought to be far higher, in part due to limited testing.

Eltahawy criticised Sarraj’s government for not reining in abusive, unaccountable militias and armed groups” and instead “relying on them for security, law enforcement and fighting its rivals.”

She urged for an immediate release of those abducted and called for an independent investigation, as did the UN mission in Libya. It said the protests were motivated by frustration about sustained poor living conditions, shortages of electricity and water and a lack of services throughout the country.

Protests over the deteriorating economic situation continued this week in Tripoli and western Libyan towns controlled by the GNA.

One protester told Amnesty International: “The images of armed groups firing on peaceful protesters brought back memories of the February 2011 protests against [the late former leader of Libya] Muammar Gadhafi.”