LIBYA: Representatives of the Tripoli Military Council say hundreds of bodies are discovered at a mass grave in the Tajoura district of the Libyan capital

Record ID: 861006

  • Title: LIBYA: Representatives of the Tripoli Military Council say hundreds of bodies are discovered at a mass grave in the Tajoura district of the Libyan capital
  • Date: 6th October 2011
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TRIPOLI MILITARY COUNCIL, NAJI AL-ASAWI, SAYING: "The number of bodies in this cemetery is 200-300. We have another 700 in a different area, which means that we are now collecting around 900 bodies." BODY BAGS ARMED MAN WALKING NEAR WALL / GRAVES IN CEMETERY
  • Embargoed: 21st October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • City:
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA5V4U2S6MFQUZK8AQVRC94TW7B
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Tripoli's Military Council discovered another mass grave in the Libyan capital on Wednesday (October 5), saying they believed more than 200 bodies were buried at the site.
    Representatives from the council escorted media to a cemetery in the Tajoura district where they uncovered bodies that had been wrapped in plastic and buried recently.
    Wearing masks and protective clothing, men unearthed corpses in front of the cameras. One was seen to be wearing a uniform.
    "The number of bodies in this cemetery is 200-300. We have another 700 in a different area, which means that we are now collecting around 900 bodies," said Naji al-Asawi of the Tripoli Military Council.
    Confusion surrounds many of the mass grave sites that have been found in recent weeks.
    The Military Council provided no further details on the identification of the bodies or where they may have come from.
    Local residents said the bodies may have been corpses collected from the streets at the end of August.
    When evidence emerged of widespread summary killings during the battle for the Libyan capital, residents in Tripoli began burying the dead in mass graves.
    The burials began just after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi on August 23.
    As the fighting ebbed away, more and more bodies were found.
    Some were Gaddafi soldiers killed in combat, while others appeared to have been executed.
    In the Tajoura district of the capital, local people prepared a mass grave shortly after the downfall of Gaddafi for the bodies of 22 African men who appeared to have been recruited to fight for the ousted leader.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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