Amnesty International said Thursday that after six weeks, the offensive to take over Tripoli by Khalifa Haftar and his forces has resulted in unlawful attacks that could amount to war crimes which must be investigated by international prosecutors.
The report by Amnesty International said it had documented evidence of indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas in the Libyan capital.
"The organization has gathered witness testimony and analyzed satellite imagery, which indicates that densely populated residential areas in the Abu Salim district of Tripoli were indiscriminately attacked with rockets during an episode of intense fighting between 15-17 April." It said.
Amnesty International has also documented attacks that have placed the lives of hundreds of refugees and migrants at risk.
“As the battle for Tripoli unfolds, the warring parties have displayed a shameful disregard for civilian safety and international humanitarian law by carrying out indiscriminate attacks on residential neighbourhoods. Such reckless attacks could have devastating consequences for civilians and strengthen the need for the International Criminal Court to expand its investigations into possible war crimes by all sides in Libya’s conflict,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International.
More than 454 people have been killed and 2,154 injured - including volunteering relief workers and civilians, according to the World Health Organization and the UN.
Around 70,000 people have also been forced to flee their homes because of the fighting.