THE HAGUE: The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Friday condemned a deadly attack on a Benghazi mosque which left at least 37 dead, and renewed calls for the arrest of a wanted Libyan commander.
“These bombings and executions demand both condemnation and a meaningful response,” chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement.
At least 37 people died and scores were wounded after Tuesday’s two car bombings outside a mosque frequented by militants in Libya’s second city Benghazi.
The attack was followed by video and photographs on social networks Wednesday, appearing to show wanted Libyan commander Mahmoud Al-Werfalli carrying out summary executions in retaliation.
Bensouda said she was “deeply concerned” by the bombings, but also “appalled” at the reports of the executions of 10 people in front of the mosques.
Witnesses said Werfalli, who is wanted for war crimes by the ICC, had carried out the public executions in revenge for the Tuesday mosque attack.
In one video, a uniformed officer, said to be Werfalli, is seen making the blindfolded suspects in blue prison uniforms kneel in front of him before shooting them one after the other in the head.
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Werfalli, accusing him of participating in seven similar incidents between 2016 and 2017 in which 33 people were executed.
The UN Support Mission in Libya has also demanded Werfalli’s immediate surrender to the ICC in The Hague.
Bensouda also appealed to military strongman Khalifa Haftar, whose forces control eastern Benghazi and to whom Werfalli is loyal, to work with the Libyan army to arrest the wanted commander.
“The appalling cycle of violence and impunity in Libya cannot be allowed to continue for the sake of the Libyan people,” she added.
The ICC, is the world’s only permanent war crimes court, seeking to prosecute those behind the worst atrocities where national courts cannot or will not investigate.
The latest violence in Libya came as UN envoy Ghassan Salame held talks in the east with Haftar in efforts to end the political chaos that has gripped the country since longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi was ousted and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
A UN-backed unity government based in the capital Tripoli has struggled to assert its authority outside western Libya. Haftar supports a rival administration based in the east.
ICC prosecutor condemns Benghazi mosque attack
ICC prosecutor condemns Benghazi mosque attack
Israel detains Al-Aqsa imam as PA warns of escalation during Ramadan
- Israeli authorities have prohibited 250 people from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque since January
- Knesset member Amit Halevi called for Jewish prayers at the site during Ramadan
LONDON: Israeli authorities detained Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abbasi, the imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, from within the mosque’s courtyards as 222 settlers stormed the site on Monday.
The Palestinian Authority warned of an Israeli escalation at the Al-Aqsa compound in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem, ahead of and during the fasting month of Ramadan, which starts this week.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that Israeli authorities have prohibited 250 people from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque since January. This week, they prevented the Jerusalem Endowments Council from preparing for Ramadan by blocking the installation of umbrellas for sun and rain protection, and the setup of temporary clinics, according to Wafa news agency.
The governorate also condemned the visit of Israeli Knesset member Amit Halevi to Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday, accompanied by Israeli police. It said that Halevi’s incursion was part of a provocative tour with the “Temple Mount Administration,” amid rising Israeli calls to change the reality at Al-Aqsa Mosque and alter the historic status quo.
Halevi advocated continuing what he described as “Jewish prayers” at the site during the month of Ramadan, Wafa added.
The governorate also reported that Israeli forces issued a six-month ban on freed prisoner and Al-Aqsa Mosque guard Fadi Alyan from entering the mosque.
