One year after the start of the revolt that toppled Moammar Gadhafi's regime in Libya, many challenges still face the North African country, including a slow rebuilding process and the widespread presence of unregulated militias.
According to a report released on Thursday by Amnesty International, militias continue to commit human rights abuses, challenging security and slowing the post-war rebuilding process.
Following are highlights from the report and additionally reported facts from that highlight the economic and security issues in Libya.
* The report, "Militias threaten hopes for new Libya," indicates that 12 detainees died after being tortured since September.
* Amnesty International went to 11 detention centers in central and western Libya during January and February, where delegates witnessed injuries gained, according to detainees, by torture and abuse at the hands of militias.
* No effective investigations have been carried out by the National Transitional Council regarding cases of torture, including cases involving militias and formally or informally recognized interrogation centers.
* At particular risk for mistreatment are residents of Tawargha, a former base of operations for pro-Gadhafi troops during the siege of Misratah. They are black Libyans and have been targeted for revenge attacks in several incidents, according to the report.
* They and sub-Saharan African laborers have been singled out for abuse due to Gadhafi's hiring of sub-Saharan African mercenaries during the conflict.
* Human Rights Watch reports that the former Prime Minister and head of intelligence Abuzaid Dorda does not have access to a lawyer and requires specialized medical care. He sustained injuries after being threatened with violence during a militia detention in October by jumping from a two-story building.
* Over a dozen detainees are denied access to lawyers during, including Said al-Islam Gadhafi, the high-profile, captured son of former leader Gadhafi.
* The stagnated economy and widespread unemployment are hampering development, according to a Thursday report from AFP. While oil exports are near pre-war levels, unemployment may be higher than 26 percent, while the presence of militias discourage foreign companies and labor to return.
* On Monday, five people died during inter-tribal clashes in Al Kufra, Reuters reports. The city is in Al Kufra province in the southeast, bordering Chad and Sudan. Fighters claim that Chadian and South Sudanese fighters from Darfur were involved in the fighting, fueled in part by the absence of National Transitional Council authority over the region.
* The election of a constituent assembly is scheduled to take place in June, a step leading towards the end of the National Transitional Council. The assembly would be responsible for drafting a new constitution.
Shawn Humphrey is a former contributor to The Flint Journal and an amateur Africanist, focusing his personal studies on human rights and political issues on the continent.
There are no comments yet