On Tuesday, July 2nd 2019, airstrikes hit the government-run Tajoura Detention Centre just outside the Libyan capital of Tripoli. The attack killed more than 44 and injured at least 130.
The government blamed the airstrikes on General Haftar’s forces. Though General Haftar accused the government of the attack.
The dead are predominantly thought to be sub-Saharan Africans who had been trying to reach Europe. In May the UN had called the for those living in the Tajoura centre to be moved out of harm’s way due to the unacceptable risks.
The UN Libya envoy has condemned the attack as a possible war crime.
AOAV records casualties (i.e. people killed and injured) from explosive violence around the world as reported in English-language news sources.
Last year, AOAV recorded a significant increase in casualties from explosive violence in Libya, with 392 civilian casualties recorded, compared to 163 the previous year – amounting to an rise of 140%.
In the first half of 2019, AOAV recorded a further 223 civilian casualties from explosive violence in Libya. While, this is a decrease compared to the same period last year, when 339 civilian deaths and injuries were recorded, the nature of the violence has changed. Indeed, civilian casualties from airstrikes and shelling have increased since Haftar’s forces launched an offensive to seize the capital earlier this year.
AOAV has recorded 121 civilian casualties from airstrikes between January and June 2019, compared to 19 in the same period the previous year. While civilian casualties from shelling have increased from 43 to 80.
AOAV condemns the use of violence against civilians and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. AOAV encourages all armed actors to stop using explosive weapons with wide-area affects where there is likely to be a high concentration of civilians.
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