Gadhafi's Men Slaughtered Prisoners: Witnesses

Thousands of prisoners still missing
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 29, 2011 10:55 AM CDT
Gadhafi's Men Slaughtered Prisoners: Witnesses
A screen grab from CNN video.   (CNN Video)

Troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi massacred some 150 detainees last week, according to volunteers who cleared charred bodies from the warehouse that had apparently served as the detainees’ prison. An escaped prisoner told his story to CNN: He and his brother were handcuffed and blindfolded for no apparent reason while out walking earlier this month. They were thrown into the warehouse with 60 others ages 17 to 70. The number inside quickly reached 175 as loyalists continued to imprison people.

The detainees were given no food or water for days, said Muneer Own. Finally, the troops said they would set them free—but instead hurled a grenade at them and opened fire. About 25 people were able to escape, Own said; his brother apparently was not one of them. The mass of bodies was discovered when rebels eventually took over the area. Many remain unidentified, part of a growing number of prisoners whose whereabouts remain unknown, notes the Washington Post. Thousands—some of whom have been jailed for decades—could be in underground prisons or mass graves, rebels fear. Click through for one family’s story. (More Moammar Gadhafi stories.)

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