LIBYA : The embattled regime of Muammar Gaddafi has vehemently denied accusations by a UN panel and western governments that Libyan forces have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Libyan diplomat Mustafa Shaban told the UN human rights council on Thursday that his government that was "the victim of a widespread aggression" and blamed the news media, opposition and foreign mercenaries for human rights violations and even acts of cannibalism.
Shaban questioned how the protest movement could be called peaceful when it was heavily armed. The opposition to Gaddafi's government is also backed by an air campaign led by Nato that has so far lasted nearly three months.
The Libyan diplomat told the Geneva-based council that opponents had "even admitted to acts of cannibalism" – without further elaboration – and that it would "reserve our rights to prosecute the media" for what he described as misinformation.
Edited by Jess T.
Shaban's comments came after the chief prosecutor for the court in The Hague said on Wednesday that he was investigating whether Gaddafi provided Viagra to Libyan soldiers to promote rape. Last week a UN panel said its investigators had found evidence that government forces had committed murder, torture and sexual abuses.
The three-member panel of UN investigators also said they found evidence that rebel forces had committed some acts that would constitute war crimes, in a civil war estimated to have killed between 10,000 and 15,000 people.Shaban questioned how the protest movement could be called peaceful when it was heavily armed. The opposition to Gaddafi's government is also backed by an air campaign led by Nato that has so far lasted nearly three months.
The Libyan diplomat told the Geneva-based council that opponents had "even admitted to acts of cannibalism" – without further elaboration – and that it would "reserve our rights to prosecute the media" for what he described as misinformation.
The UN panel also investigated allegations that Nato air strikes in Libya had caused large numbers of civilian casualties. The alliance has conducted thousands of air strikes as part of its UN mandate to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians in Libya.
Ibrahim Aldredi, a former Libyan diplomat who defected to the opposition, told reporters in Geneva that the Benghazi-based rebels accepted the findings of the UN panel and would help prosecute and punish any perpetrators of human rights abuses.- The GuardianEdited by Jess T.
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