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Libyan ghost town still waiting for justice two years after war

Two years on the Libyan the town of Tawargha is still deserted

Amnesty International have said that two years after the end of the conflict in Libya the town of Tawargha is still deserted.

All 40,000 Tawarghas, who are ethnic black Libyans, have been driven out of their home town by armed groups who have accused them of supporting the former government of Colonel Gadaffi.

For months after the 2011 conflict the Tawarghas were hunted by militias and suffered arbitrary arrests, torture and killings.

An Amnesty report published yesterday highlighted their continuing persecution, abduction and arbitrary detention.

Militias have threatened to stop any future attempt by them to return to their homes.

Amnesty north Africa deputy director Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said: "Two years after the conflict, Tawarghas and other displaced communities are still waiting for justice and effective reparations for abuse.

"It is unthinkable that the victims of abuses have been asked to relinquish their right to safe return, while militias and others threatening them have gone unchallenged."

More than 1,300 Tawarghas are estimated to be missing, detained or subjected to enforced disappearances.

Most were seized by militias and have been put under torture including electric shocks, whipping and beatings with metal bars.

Hundreds of Tawargha detainees, including children, have also been held in state prisons for more than two years without charge in poor conditions with inadequate medical care.

"All those being held without charge must be released or charged," said Ms Hadj Sahraoui.

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