CAIRO — A leading rights group said Tuesday that it has evidence of potential war crimes by Libyan factions fighting a monthslong battle for Tripoli, the capital.
London-based Amnesty International said its investigation showed that the warring parties have killed and maimed scores of civilians, with both sides having set off indiscriminate attacks and used inaccurate explosive weapons in populated urban areas.
Forces loyal to Khalifa Hifter, a veteran army officer based in the country’s east, began an offensive to capture Tripoli in early April, clashing with an array of militias loosely allied with a U.N.-supported but weak government based in the capital. The fighting has stalled in recent weeks, with both sides dug in and shelling one another along the city’s southern reaches.
Amnesty said Tripoli authorities and the Libyan National Army didn’t respond to its questions about the strikes.
Underscoring the report’s message, at least two children were killed in Tripoli when a shell hit their home Tuesday, said Malek Merset, a spokesman for the Tripoli-based Health Ministry.