24 – 30 Jan: UN and ICC condemn executions and call for Werfalli’s arrest

Jan 30, 2018 | International actors

On 24 January, Libyan National Army (LNA) Special Forces commander Mahmoud al-Werfalli was filmed executing 10 people imprisoned by the LNA following a double bomb attack in Benghazi on 23 January. In response, UNSMIL and a number of Western countries condemned the summary executions and called for the implementation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Werfalli.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Werfalli in August 2017 due to video evidence of his orchestration and participation in the execution of prisoners in Benghazi, which amounts to war crimes. After the ICC issued the warrant, the LNA announced it was investigating him and had detained him, though his whereabouts were unclear. However, it is now clear that the LNA has so far been unable to arrest Werfalli due to public support for his actions in Benghazi.

On 25 January, the UN Support Mission in Libya launched an appeal for US$313 million from donors as part of its 2018 Libya Humanitarian Response Plan. The plan aims to respond to the most basic needs of 940,000 people out of an estimated 1.1 million in need of life-saving humanitarian assistance and protection across Libya.

On 25 January, the office of the Government of National Accord Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj said that Christian Buck, Germany’s ambassador to Libya, had informed Serraj that the German embassy has started taking the necessary steps to return to Tripoli this year.