ICC cancels six arrest warrants for alleged war crimes in Libya

AMSTERDAM, Oct 4 (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court on Friday unsealed arrest warrants for six members of a Libyan militia accused of war crimes.

In 2023, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said that arrest warrants had been issued by judges for war crimes in Libya since 2011, but that these warrants were classified, so it was not clear who was targeted or what the specific charges were.

Arrest warrants released on Friday made it clear that six people, all Libyan nationals, were charged with war crimes, including murder, torture, cruel treatment and sexual violence, including some with rape.

Libya has seen little peace since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 and the oil-producing country’s split in 2014 between warring eastern and western factions. Heavy fighting ended in 2020, but there has been little progress toward a political solution and armed factions still dominate on the ground.

According to the ICC, the suspects in the six arrest warrants were all members of the Kaniyat militia, which was allied with the eastern Libyan national army and helped it launch a 14-month failed attack on the western capital Tripoli.

They were sanctioned by the United States and Britain in 2020 when the attack failed and in 2021 for alleged human rights violations.

The unrest in Libya was referred to the International Criminal Court by the UN Security Council in 2011, and the court said the focus of its investigation was on alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed since February 15 this year.

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