Libya: News From the Ground | Kenya's Disappeared

Libya: News From the Ground
Weapons, Executed Gaddafi Supporters, and Details of Gaddafi's Death
Unguarded Weapons
Vast amounts of unsecured explosive weapons, including surface-to-air missiles capable of taking down civilian aircraft, remain unguarded in the area around Sirte.
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Gaddafi Supporters Apparently Executed

Human Rights Watch found the bodies of 53 apparent Gaddafi supporters at an abandoned hotel that had allegedly been held by anti-Gaddafi forces from Misrata. The bodies were clustered on the grass in the sea-view garden, some with their hands bound behind their backs.
Our researchers have been in Sirte, Misrata and Tripoli, doing valuable research. They also have been urging the National Transitional Council and their fighters to treat detained Gaddafi loyalists properly, to refrain from revenge attacks on communities of perceived Gaddafi supporters, and to hold those who abuse or executive prisoners accountable.
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Investigate Deaths of Gaddafi and Son
An investigation should be opened into the deaths of Muammar Gaddafi and his son Muatassim, as evidence indicates that they died in custody.
The earliest known video of Muammar Gaddafi in detention shows him alive but bleeding. Human Rights Watch briefly viewed his body. We couldn’t determine the cause of death, but a bullet entry site was visible on Gaddafi’s left temple, as were two inch-long gashes on his torso.
Learn more of the evidence »
Photo: © 2011 Peter Bouckaert/Human Rights Watch

Kenya and Mt. Elgon's Disappeared
Hundreds Still Missing From Conflict Between Rebels, Government
“Have you heard those bullets at Kimaswa?” a soldier told a woman as he took her husband away. “That’s the weapon that is going to be used on your husband.”
More than 300 people remain missing after a 2008 conflict between a militia and government forces in Kenya’s Mt. Elgon region. A new report shows how families of those “disappeared” on both sides have sought – and been denied – justice.
The majority of the missing were forcibly disappeared by the army, but the government has done little to help search for victims, or locate and exhume mass graves. By not issuing death certificates for the disappeared, the government has effectively blocked family members from inheriting property and money.
The Mt. Elgon insurgency started in 2006, when the militia resisted government attempts to evict squatters. It attacked thousands of suspected government supporters – raping, killing, and mutilating them. It also waged a campaign of terror in favor of the opposition party before the 2007 election. The government responded by sending in forces that killed hundreds and detained thousands arbitrarily.
The plight of the victims’ families endures. With no bodies to bury or death certificates, they remain in legal and psychological limbo.