CAIRO — Recent clashes between rival Libyan militias for control of the capital Tripoli have displaced nearly 20,000 people, the U.N. said Tuesday, and prompted the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to warn that she could investigate and possibly prosecute new offenses.
The self-styled Libyan National Army, aligned with a rival government in the east, launched a major military offensive on April 5 to take Tripoli, igniting clashes with rival militias allied with the U.N.-supported government.
ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who was already investigating crimes in Libya, said in a statement that she is “deeply concerned” about the escalation of violence and called on military commanders to prevent war crimes.
She said she “will not hesitate to expand my investigations and potential prosecutions to cover any new instances of crimes falling within the Court’s jurisdiction.”
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York said Tuesday the number of people displaced due to hostilities in the Tripoli area has increased to near 20,000, including more than 2,500 in the past 24 hours, according to the U.N. migration agency.
He said 50 civilian casualties were confirmed so far, including 14 deaths, but these individually verified cases must be considered “a minimum,” Dujarric said.
Dujarric said heavy weapons and shelling have damaged houses, schools and civilian infrastructure.
Dujarric said Monday that around 3,000 migrants remain trapped in detention centers in, and close to, conflict areas. And “in some cases, guards have abandoned the detention centers leaving detainees to their own devices without basic life-sustaining supplies such as food or water,” he said.
On the ground Tuesday, the Libyan National Army media office said clashes have been...
