The bodies of 11 people bearing gunshot wounds were discovered on Thursday in eastern Libya’s Benghazi, said a security source, suggesting they had been “executed”. “Security forces were alerted on Thursday of the presence of 11 unidentified bodies at the southern entrance to Benghazi in the Haouari area, near a cement factory,” a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity. Examinations revealed “bullet holes” in the bodies, supporting the theory that they were “executed”, the source added.
Libya has been ravaged by violence since the 2011 toppling of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising that in recent years pitted rival powers in the country’s east and west against each other. Fighting between the two sides ended in summer last year, with a ceasefire taking effect in October.
A new unity government was sworn in on Monday and is tasked with leading a transition to December elections. However, the east of the North African country remains controlled by forces loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar and the situation remains precarious, with frequent tit-for-tat violence and executions.
In October 2017, 36 suspected jihadists, including 19 foreigners, were shot dead. Their bodies, which bore signs of torture, were dumped in a vacant lot. A year earlier, the bodies of 10 young Libyans were found in a garbage dump in Benghazi.
