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Bensouda warns of war crimes in Libya

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor warned Tuesday of potential war crimes in Libya as renegade general Khalifa Haftar continues his push on Tripoli despite pleas that he cease the offensive.  

Bensouda, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, also raised the case of Seham Sergiwa, a leading Libyan rights campaigner and member of the country’s House of Representatives who went missing in Haftar-controlled territory in July.

She was abducted the night after publicly questioning Haftar’s push to seize Tripoli from the Libyan government. The Avengers of Blood, a militia allied to Haftar, is suspected of involvement in her disappearance.

Bensouda said that while Sergiwa’s “fate and whereabouts remain unknown,” her office has information that “may point to those responsible for Ms. Sergiwa’s disappearance.”

“Investigations to verify this information are continuing,” she said, without elaborating.

She also reported that arrest warrants for Al-Tuhamy Khaled in Cairo and Mahmoud Al-Werfalli, who is reported to be under the command of General Haftar, have yet to be executed.

The prosecutor said an increasing number of enforced disappearances are occurring with close to total impunity, reminding Council members that these are crimes against humanity that inflict “severe suffering” on families and can spread terror across all of society.

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