Libya: The National Human Rights Institution Documents Serious Violations in Tripoli

Libya’s National Human Rights Institution has released preliminary figures on civilian casualties resulting from the armed clashes that erupted in Tripoli on Tuesday, May 13. The institution reported 53 civilian deaths, including Egyptian and Nigerian nationals, as well as four Libyan women, alongside ten charred bodies whose identities remain unknown. Additionally, 40 individuals sustained injuries of varying severity, with some admitted to intensive care units.

The institution highlighted the excessive and disproportionate use of heavy and medium weapons within densely populated residential areas, noting a clear disregard by the conflicting parties for civilian protection guarantees and the principle of proportionality in military operations. No official statement has been issued by the Ministry of Health under the Interim Government of National Unity; the casualty figures were obtained from confidential sources by the institution’s Fact-Finding, Monitoring, and Documentation Department in collaboration with its Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Office.

Between May 12 and 14, the Complaints and Reports Department received approximately 20 reports of missing persons, concentrated in various districts of the capital, including Airport Road, Andalus neighborhood, Abu Salim, Al-Hadba, and Souq Al-Juma. The institution called on all relevant authorities to take urgent measures to protect civilians and ascertain the fate of the missing, holding all parties to the conflict fully accountable for the human losses and violations inflicted upon the residents of these areas.