The United Nations (UN) mission in Libya has issued a pressing call for an investigation into the demise of former Defence Minister Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi, alongside six others, while in the custody of opposing authorities in the eastern region.
The UN mission expressed deep concern over the deaths, citing prior “allegations of ill-treatment and torture” after their arrest in Benghazi on October 7. The clash erupted between Barghathi’s loyalists, affiliated with the UN-recognized government in Tripoli, and forces aligned with military leader Khalifa Haftar, who commands the rival administration in the east.
Demanding an impartial and transparent inquiry into the deaths and seeking information regarding the whereabouts of the missing individuals, the UN mission called upon Libyan authorities with jurisdiction to take action.
In light of scant official details, the exact cause of these fatalities remains shrouded in ambiguity, as authorities in the east have yet to comment on the matter. The precise location of detention in Benghazi where Barghathi and his cohorts were held remains undisclosed.
Barghathi, a former colonel who returned from exile to the eastern city, faced arrests following allegations propagated by pro-Haftar media branding him and his supporters as a “cell of saboteurs.”
Libya has been grappling with persistent conflict involving a multitude of militias, extremists, and foreign mercenaries since the NATO-backed uprising resulting in the ousting and death of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
The nation remains divided between the UN-backed government centered in Tripoli under Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah and the rival eastern-based administration supported by Haftar.