Libyan Detainees Tortured to Death: Amnesty

Some of Libya's reported 8,500 detainees have died following torture, says Amnesty International, citing patients with open head, limb, and back wounds. "The torture is being carried out by officially recognized military and security entities as well as by a multitude of armed militias operating outside any legal framework," a rep for the activist group tells the BBC. Doctors Without Borders is suspending its work in Misrata over concerns that it's being "exploited" by interrogators.

"Our role is to provide medical care to war casualties and sick detainees, not to repeatedly treat the same patients between torture sessions," says the group's general director. Those held in some 60 detention centers across the country are largely Moammar Gadhafi loyalists, says a UN rep. "The lack of oversight by the central authority creates an environment conducive to torture and ill treatment," she says. "My staff have received alarming reports that this is happening in places of detention they have visited." (More Libya stories.)