The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, confirmed that his country will continue to take concrete measures in response to the gross violations of human rights in Libya.
Pompeo indicated in a tweet that the United States imposed sanctions on the Al-Kaniyat Brigade, and its leader, Mohammad Al-Kani, by placing him on its blacklist.
The US Treasury Department issued a statement, saying that the “Kaniyat” Brigade is responsible for “killing civilians, whose bodies were recently discovered in many mass graves in Tarhouna, torture, enforced disappearance and displacement of civilians.”
The ministry stated that, after the return of the forces allied with the Government of National Accord to Tarhuna in June 2020, at least 11 mass graves were discovered containing the bodies of civilians who had previously been detained by the “Kaniyat”, including women, children and the elderly.
It added that it appears that some of the dead were tortured, burned or buried alive, adding that the “kaniyat” is responsible for hundreds of summary executions in Tarhuna prison, according to the ministry’s statement.
