Libyan authorities under the Government of National Accord (GNA) have dug up 12 bodies from four more unmarked graves in the city of Tarhuna, adding to the scores of corpses already discovered since the area was recaptured in June from the militias loyal to Khalifa Haftar.
Investigators from the GNA’s missing persons authority have been working to dig around Tarhuna for human remains and to identify the bodies.
Many of the bodies discovered so far were those found in the hospital. However, dozens of bodies have also been unearthed from the unmarked gravesites.
Some of the bodies discovered show the marks of violence, including, among those revealed this week, a smashed skull and dismembered limbs, a missing persons authority official said.
Tarhuna had been controlled for years by a militia known as the Kaniyat, run by the local Kani family, which fought alongside Haftar’s militias. The GNA has issued arrest warrants for Kaniyat leaders who are now believed to be in eastern Libya.
