In a report to the Human Rights Council on Wednesday, the United Nations human rights office said ordinary Libyans and refugees in the North African state are still being arbitrarily held in appalling conditions with no access to the outside world.
“Extrajudicial and unlawful killings are rampant,” UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour told the Geneva forum.
“In what has become an increasing pattern in and around Benghazi over the last two years, more bodies with signs of torture and hands bound were found in the streets,” Gilmour added.
He explained that armed groups are “the main perpetrators of grave human rights violations and act with almost complete impunity.”
According to Gilmour, detention centers run by armed groups, “including those with links to ministries,” have the worst record.
The Libya-Italy route has been one of the major passageways for the asylum seekers attempting to reach wealthier European states.
In March 2011, a multi-state NATO-led coalition began a military intervention in Libya a month into an uprising against the country’s then dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.
That mission, which was said to be aimed at paving the way for a ceasefire in Libya and ending attacks against civilians, came to an end in October that year after the fall and death of Gaddafi amid the uprising.
Seven years on, Libya remains a lawless state, with various rival armed factions vying for power. The country is now split between two governments based in the east and the west.
Libya’s coastlines are also largely in the hands of armed groups who smuggle refugees onto boats heading for Italy and Europe.
