58 Mysterious Bodies Found Rotting In Libya's Tripoli

UNSPLASH/Daniel von Appen ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - 58 unidentified bodies were found in a hospital in Tripoli, Libya. The bodies were found in a morgue refrigerator at the Abu Salim Accident Hospital.

Photos of bodies with censored faces uploaded by the Libyan Ministry of Home Affairs show bodies in various rotting conditions in steel containers and beds. Several bodies were burned. Investigations are underway to determine the identities of the victims.

"So far, 23 bodies have been examined, and all required legal procedures have been taken, including documenting data and collecting samples," the ministry said.

Abu Salim is home to a militia known as the Support Apparatus Stabilization, whose leader, Abdulghani Kikli alias Ghaniwa, died last Monday.

Kikli's murder caused a sudden defeat by SSA by factions allied with Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah who was recognized internationally from the Government of National Unity (GNU).

As reported by Reuters on Tuesday, May 20, Dbeibah ordered armed groups to be dissolved, sparking the fiercest clash ever in Tripoli over the years between two armed groups.

The clashes killed eight civilians, according to the United Nations.

The bodies found on Monday, May 19 were a collection of the two unidentified bodies found in recent days. On Saturday, officials said nine bodies had been found in a morgue refrigerator at Al-Khadra hospital, another SSA-controlled hospital in the Abu Salim neighborhood.

Militia belum melaporkan bahwa-buat tersebut kepada otoritas terkait, kata kementerian dalam negeri.

Dbeibah said eliminating militias was an "ongoing project," as the ceasefire after last week's clashes still took effect.

Libya's stability has been shaken since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled old autocrat Muammar Gaddafi. The country split in 2014 between competing eastern and western factions, despite the outbreak of a major war stalled with a ceasefire in 2020.