The bodies were recovered from newly discovered mass graves in Tarhuna, south of the capital Tripoli.
Twelve unidentified bodies were found in mass graves in the Libyan city of Tarhuna, south of the capital Tripoli.
The bodies found on Sunday were recovered from the newly discovered mass graves, Abdul-Aziz Jafri, a spokesman for the General Bureau of Research and Identification, told Xinhua News Agency.
An information mission to Libya was set up by the United Nations’ supreme rights organization in June after prosecutors at the International Criminal Court declared that recently discovered mass graves could constitute war crimes.
At the time, at least eight mass graves were discovered in an area recaptured by Libya’s internationally recognized government of the National Convention (GNA) from the forces of breakaway military commander Khalifa Haftar.
According to the Tripoli-based GNA, most of the graves were found in Tarhuna, Haftar’s last stronghold in western Libya.
The city was used by its armed forces as a launch pad during an unfortunate 14-month offensive aimed at capturing Tripoli from the GNA.
According to Libyan media, since a search began in June, a total of 86 bodies have been recovered in Tarhuna and 28 more bodies in Tripoli.
Libya, a major oil producer, has been in turmoil since 2011 when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in a NATO-backed uprising.
Since 2015, the GNA in Tripoli has fought a power struggle against Haftar from the east, with both sides supported by rival foreign powers.
Hundreds of people have been killed and around 200,000 people displaced in Libya since the last escalation, which began in April 2019 when Haftar’s self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), backed by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, launched an offensive against Tripoli. the seat of the internationally recognized GNA.
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