REUTERS

GENEVA: Libya’s National Transitional Council pledged Monday to treat well foreigners accused of fighting for ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi, and denied that anti-Gadhafi fighters had committed systematic abuse of Africans. Throughout the uprising against Gadhafi’s 42-year rule, his opponents have accused Gadhafi of hiring fighters from countries such as Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Mali and Sudan. That has led to fears of mistreatment of blacks now that the former rebels are in charge.

A U.N. commission of inquiry on Libya, which has not been able to enter the country since Gadhafi was driven from power, said it had received many reports of ill-treatment of black Africans and dark-skinned Libyans by anti-Gadhafi fighters.

Media reports from Libya have shown cowed blacks herded into trucks and raised accusations of summary executions. Blacks captured by anti-Gadhafi forces have told Reuters that they were innocent migrant workers mistaken for Gadhafi fighters.

Mohammed al-Alagi, identified as the justice and human rights minister of the NTC, told the U.N. Human Rights Council that Gadhafi had used mercenaries to kill Libyans, but that any who were captured would be treated fairly.
“The Gadhafi regime declared war on the Libyan people, and used foreign mercenaries,” Alagi said. “But when captured they will still have the right to an appropriate trial.”

Alagi added that the NTC would investigate any violations of human rights committed by its fighters.
“There have been no war crimes [by anti-Gadhafi forces],” he said. “If anything illegal has happened, it was individual acts by revolutionaries who were not acting under instructions from the NTC. We have called on the revolutionaries to treat prisoners according to Islamic Sharia and international law.”

Allegations of abuse by Libya’s new authorities are uncomfortable for the NATO countries. U.S. Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe said having a new government in Libya would make it easier to hold it responsible for human rights.

“The important point today is that we have a new government and we have a credible partner to work with … in Libya,” she told reporters.
“That is where our emphasis will be in the near term – to make sure that this new government gets off on the right foot and lives up to its responsibility with respect to accountability and creation of a secure situation for all.”