An eyewitness, Salim (left) and one of the lucky ones, the man (right) explaining what happened and how he managed to escape the atrocity

In a report on Sky News the news network's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay said that he has seen evidence in Tripoli of a mass killing that eyewitnesses have blamed on pro-Al Qathafi forces.

He said he had counted as many as 53 executed bodies in a burnt-out warehouse that was indicated to him, where eyewitnesses who escaped the massacre said the people were murdered by the forces loyal to the Libyan dictator Al Qathafi on August 23 and 24. They were gunned down and set on fire

Ramsay went on to say that he had also seen the bodies of two soldiers, with their hands tied behind their backs, who locals say formed part of the Al Qathafi loyalists and believe were killed when they refused to fire on the people being held inside the warehouse, and were then murdered.

Andrew Mitchell, the International Development Secretary said: “We will hold to account anyone, on either side, who commits atrocities.

A Libyan by the name of Salim who lives close to the warehouse told the correspondent that he heard shouting and gunfire at the farm building which he said was next door to a military base. He said that as many as 150 civilians were killed but around ten people escaped.

Salim said the military had not allowed anyone to enter the building recently, but local residents managed to investigate the site after the troops left. He said he was certain that the massacre was carried out by pro-Al Qathafi forces. Very few were lucky. They were wounded but escaped and thre of them are being teated at a medical centre in Tripoli.

One of the survivors talked to Sky News, He said he was lucky and escaped. The Al Qathafi soliders even tried to kill the ones who had escaped, but they managed to flee. They were killed because they disagreed with the Al Qathafi regime, he said.

The discovery of the mass grave came as fears started to grow about the humanitarian situation in Libya. Earlier, dozens of dead bodies were found at a hospital near Tripoli. They belonged to patients apparently abandoned in their beds at the Abu Salim building when fighting broke out last week. Most of the victims were men and several had been shot, according to reports.

Witnesses described seeing the decomposing bodies piled up in the building, but It was unclear when the men died or who killed them, though reports said they had darker skin than most Libyans. Andrew Mitchell said the reports from the hospital were "appalling".


In a report on Sky News the news network's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay said that he has seen evidence in Tripoli of a mass killing that eyewitnesses have blamed on pro-Al Qathafi forces.

He said he had counted as many as 53 executed bodies in a burnt-out warehouse that was indicated to him, where eyewitnesses who escaped the massacre said the people were murdered by the forces loyal to the Libyan dictator Al Qathafi on August 23 and 24.

Ramsay went on to say that he had also seen the bodies of two soldiers, with their hands tied behind their backs, who locals say formed part of the Al Qathafi loyalists and believe were killed when they refused to fire on the people being held inside the warehouse, and were then murdered.

Andrew Mitchell, the International Development Secretary said: “We will hold to account anyone, on either side, who commits atrocities.

A Libyan by the name of Salim who lives close to the warehouse told the correspondent that he heard shouting and gunfire at the farm building which he said was next door to a military base. He said that as many as 150 civilians were killed but around ten people escaped.

Salim said the military had not allowed anyone to enter the building recently, but local residents managed to investigate the site after the troops left. He said he was certain that the massacre was carried out by pro-Al Qathafi forces.

The discovery of the mass grave came as fears started to grow about the humanitarian situation in Libya. Earlier, dozens of dead bodies were found at a hospital near Tripoli. They belonged to patients apparently abandoned in their beds at the Abu Salim building when fighting broke out last week. Most of the victims were men and several had been shot, according to reports.

Witnesses described seeing the decomposing bodies piled up in the building, but It was unclear when the men died or who killed them, though reports said they had darker skin than most Libyans. Andrew Mitchell said the reports from the hospital were "appalling".