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attacks against Sub-Saharan African migrant workers they accused of being mercenaries
for Gaddafi. 11
The opposition forces fighting against Gaddafi in Libya’s 2011 civil war were loosely
organized and often did not fall under the centralized control of the NTC, the interim
opposition body that was founded on February 27 in Benghazi and that ultimately
succeeded the Gaddafi government. Hundreds of individual militias sprung up to fight
against Gaddafi, organized around informal networks such as individual towns, companies,
schools, former military units (in the case of defectors), or religious institutions to which
members of the militia belonged. In almost every city and town across Libya, the primary
loyalty of the city or town’s militias was to their place of origin: hence, the myriad of
militias became mostly identified with their place of origin, and loosely coordinated their
activities along those lines.
The city of Misrata, and its militias, had a unique experience and profile during the 2011
conflict. Gaddafi forces subjected Misrata to a two-month siege in the spring of that year,
with near-daily shelling that caused hundreds of civilian deaths while preventing
humanitarian and medical aid from reaching the city. Human Rights Watch documented
the government’s use of mortar-fired cluster munitions and powerful, indiscriminate Grad
rockets into residential neighborhoods of Misrata. 12
Some of the militias from Misrata have also earned a reputation for brutality since
overcoming the siege of Misrata. Most visibly, militias from Misrata continue as of this
writing to prevent about 30,000 people from returning to their homes in Tawergha, a town
south of Misrata, because they accuse them of having committed atrocities against the
people of Misrata, in collaboration with Gaddafi forces. Displaced Tawerghans have been
release, March 5, 2012, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/05/libya-bolster-security-tawergha-camps; “Libya: Displaced
People Barred From Homes: Misrata Authorities Fail to Stop Destruction of Nearby Villages,” Human Rights Watch news
release, February 21, 2012, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/21/libya-displaced-people-barred-homes; “Libya:
Opposition Forces Should Protect Civilians and Hospitals: Looting, Arson, and Some Beatings in Captured Western Towns,”
Human Rights Watch news release, July 13, 2011, http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/07/13/libya-opposition-forces-shouldprotect-civilians-and-hospitals.
11 “Libya: Stop Arbitrary Arrests of Black Africans: Vulnerable Migrant Workers in Tripoli Need Protection,” Human Rights
Watch news release, September 4, 2011, http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/04/libya-stop-arbitrary-arrests-black-africans.
12 “Libya: Cluster Munitions Strike Misrata: Human Rights Watch Witnesses Attack Into Residential Areas,” Human Rights
Watch news release, April 15, 2011, http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/04/15/libya-cluster-munitions-strike-misrata; “Libya:
Indiscriminate Attacks Kill Civilians: Grad Rockets Fired Into Residential Area,” Human Rights Watch news release, April17,
2011, http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/04/17/libya-indiscriminate-attacks-kill-civilians.
DEATH OF A DICTATOR 18