Misurata -

Hundreds of corpses of fighters in the ranks of the Islamic State are still kept in air-refrigerated containers under strict protection, and these corpses were collected in 9 refrigerators in one of the departments of the Ministry of Interior in the city of Misurata.

These members of the “Islamic State” organization (who numbered 700) were killed by the forces of the “Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous” operation, which was launched by the Al-Wefaq government and ended with the elimination of the organization in the city of Sirte, one of its largest strongholds in Libya, in December 2016.

The refrigerated containers are distributed over a plot of land measuring 1,500 square metres, and each container contains 80 bodies, after taking all evidence that allows for the preservation of the bodies, documenting them, photographing them, and collecting DNA samples, before placing them in the refrigerators and installing a number that facilitates access.

9 refrigerators to preserve food that preserved the bodies of 700 fighters of the “Islamic State” organization over a period of 6 years (Al-Jazeera)

The director of the Unidentified Bodies Identification Unit, Salah Al-Mudham, says that they have identified only 51 bodies, and explains that the dead had Libyan, Tunisian, Egyptian, Algerian, Moroccan, Jordanian, Sudanese, Nigerian, Chadian, Somali, American, French and British nationalities.

Al-Mudham asserts - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that after 6 years of the expulsion of the extremist organization from the city, these bodies are still subject to negotiations conducted by the Libyan authorities with the governments of their countries, which deal with the issue very sensitively.

As for the obstacles to preserving these corpses for a long time, Al-Mudham explained that some of the refrigeration machines in which the corpses are located are constantly broken down as a result of frequent power cuts, and that these coolers are borrowed from private companies, and their owners demand them.

It was originally intended to preserve food, not corpses;

"The administration that preserves this large number of bodies was not adequately equipped, at a time when the 19 countries refuse to receive the bodies of their citizens."

He goes on to say that he spent 8 months between the prisons where the organization's members are being held, accompanied by a folder of photos of the corpses they are keeping, to identify the victims through the prisoners.

He explains that the length of time was due to the unwillingness of the women of the organization's members to talk or get to know their relatives.

The Libyan authorities suffer from the lack of cooperation of the concerned countries in receiving the bodies of their nationals to identify and receive them (Al-Jazeera)

Unidentified corpses

Efforts made by the previous Al-Wefaq government with its Egyptian counterpart in May 2018 resulted in the delivery of the remains of 20 Christians killed by ISIS on the beaches of Sirte in 2015, and the publication of a video clip of the killing.

An official delegation from the Ethiopian government visited Misurata in late December 2019, and discussed with the Department of Criminal Investigation and Investigations the file of the bodies of the Ethiopians executed by the organization in 2015, and the department extracted them from a mass grave in Sirte in December 2017, their number is 34.

Regarding those discussions, the official of the refrigerators, Ali Tawilb, says that the visit of the Ethiopian delegation was to verify the authenticity of the presence of bodies or not, and added, "We asked the delegation to bring samples from the families of the victims, to match them with the samples we keep, but after their last visit, it was found that they were not serious about receiving their nationals." ".

In his speech to Al Jazeera Net, Tawilb stressed the need to expedite the burial of the bodies after they were criminally documented, justifying their failure to bury them so far by not obtaining a place designated to bury the bodies after the approval of the Attorney General's Office.

He points out that "the only solution that preserves the dignity of the bodies, but this decision carries great difficulties in implementing it."

Al-Mudam: I spent 8 months between the prisons in which the members of the organization are being held to identify the corpses that are being held (Al-Jazeera)

The return of the displaced to Sirte

Ali Moftah came to the Giza neighborhood in Sirte, preparing to return, where he spoke - to Al-Jazeera Net - about the complete destruction of the city, saying that officials do not want us to return on the pretext of the presence of uranium, but he expressed his happiness after the expulsion of ISIS fighters from the city. ;

Their last stronghold, he said, "We are back in our homes again, which is definitely better than staying in rented accommodation."

The Islamic State had seized control of Sirte in 2015, taking advantage of the internal fighting between the Libyan armed factions.

The city was the base from which the organization launched its attacks, and it was able to expand without any hindrance, with the two sides preoccupied with the fighting between them.

The containers are not intended for storing dead bodies, and there is a lot of electricity cuts, which affects the condition of the bodies (Al-Jazeera)

under the rubble

International law professor Musa Al-Qunaidi, who is concerned with human rights and humanitarian issues in Libya, says that there are testimonies and evidence confirming that a thousand bodies of civilians are still under the rubble to this day, and they are known bodies, but the number may rise to more than that if the rubble of destroyed houses and buildings is removed.

And about preserving the bodies, Al-Qunaidi says - to Al-Jazeera Net - that the decision to keep the bodies and not dispose of them may not be a good thing, "but in the long run, it may be useful in communicating with countries to receive the bodies of their nationals, and to prove that terrorism and its danger struck Libya from abroad, and from neighboring countries, far away." About a small number of Libyan elements who engaged with ISIS, for example.

Al-Qunaidi believes that international agreements stipulate that countries should seek to identify the bodies.

And that the Libyan Public Prosecutor should work to determine the locations and identities of the missing in accordance with Libyan law.

"A DNA-based identification process should be launched for those who have not been able to identify them," he added.

Al-Qunaidi: International conventions stipulate that countries should seek to identify the identities of the bodies to receive them or bury them (Al-Jazeera)

For his part, the Mayor of Sirte, Mukhtar Al-Madani, confirms that the municipal council is holding continuous meetings to discuss a number of projects to help the people return.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Madani says that "the biggest challenge is restoring the elements of life after the destruction of the infrastructure."

He added that the rehabilitation of these facilities requires a serious pause from the government, especially after the decision of the Council of Ministers in the Government of National Unity to establish a sovereign fund under the name "Sirte Reconstruction Fund" with a financial value of about one billion Libyan dinars, "and a comprehensive survey should be conducted in the area for the presence of mines and remnants of war in it." ".