UN calls for independent investigations on deadly July airstrikes in Libya

The UN human rights office on Monday called for accountability for the airstrikes in July which killed at least 53 migrants and refugees at a detention center in northwest Libya, reported Xinhua news agency.

In a new report, the UN Human Rights Office urged warring parties in Libya, as well as foreign governments supporting them, to conduct independent, impartial and thorough investigations to ensure accountability for the violations of international law.

Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, said the report concurs with previous UN findings that the airstrikes were likely conducted by aircraft belonging to a foreign state.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said the attack, depending on the precise circumstances, may amount to a war crime. "Libyans, migrants and refugees are trapped amid violence and atrocities that are in turn fuelled by impunity. Those guilty of crimes under international law must be held to account."

The UN-backed administration is battling the Libyan National Army (LNA), which is aligned with a rival government in Benghazi, located in the east. Fighting between the two sides intensified in April 2019, after the LNA laid siege to southern Tripoli.

The attack occurred on July 2, 2019, and it was one of the deadliest incidents since the start of the new round of hostilities in April.

The report found that while it appeared that the airstrikes were conducted by aircraft belonging to a foreign state, "it remains unclear whether these air assets were under the command of the LNA or were operated under the command of that foreign State in support of the LNA."