Libya: ISIS Executed Dozens in Newest Stronghold

(Misrata, Libya, May 18, 2016) – The extremist armed group Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has unlawfully executed at least 49 people in its Libyan stronghold of Sirte since February 2015, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Those killed, by means such as decapitating and shooting, include captive fighters, political opponents, and people ISIS accused of “spying,” “sorcery” and “insulting God.”
 
The 41-page report, “‘We Feel We Are Cursed’: Life under ISIS in Sirte, Libya,” also finds that ISIS is inflicting severe hardship on the local population by diverting food, medicine, fuel, and cash, along with homes it seized from residents who fled, to fighters and functionaries it has amassed in the Mediterranean port city. As the de facto government in Sirte, ISIS has the duty to ensure that all residents are able to exercise their basic human rights, including the rights to food and health.