Human Rights Watch: "no evidence of mercenaries being used in eastern Libya"

[Hannah Bell]

Human Rights Watch says it has seen no evidence of mercenaries being used in eastern Libya. This contradicts widespread earlier reports in the international media that African soldiers had been flown in to fight rebels in the region as Muammar Gaddafi sought to keep control.

In an interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide in Libya, Peter Bouckaert from Human Rights Watch said he had conducted research and found no proof of mercenaries being used. Investigator Bouckaert, who has been in the region for two weeks, told RNW that he had been to Al Bayda after receiving reports that 156 mercenaries had been arrested there.

Black Libyans

The town is to the east of the city Benghazi and is also in the hands of the anti-Gaddafi protesters. The rights investigator said that what he found there were, in fact, 156 soldiers from the south of Libya and not from another African country. After talking to them he found out that they were all black Libyans of African descent. The soldiers have since been released by the protesters.

According to Bouckaert, the support of the black southern Libyans for the Gaddafi regime is explicable as Gaddafi fought to counter discrimination against this group in Libyan society...

http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/hrw-no-mercenaries-eastern-libya-0

[JackRiddler]

1. This lie was put out immediately and will remain effective.

It was everywhere and taken as gospel in the days running up to the attack. You will be running into misinformed people who believe it years from now. How much of the Libyan events is not being orchestrated, I wonder? Were the real revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt used as the opportunity to activate an operations plan?

[JCMach1]

2. Gaddafi also gave citizenship to a number of Africans who

worked in his proxy wars in Chad and the Central African Republic. These folks are extremely loyal to the regime.

[xchrom]

3. Recommend

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PufPuf23]

5. kr nt

[Starry Messenger]

6. k&r

[On the Road]

7. You Don't Think Mercenaries are Going to be Used

where they can defect just by crossing enemy lines, do you?

You really don't believe Qaddaffi is using mercenaries? They have individuals, ID, ads in various countries. Geez.