The Khamis Brigade morgue?

Posted by Petri Krohn
April 24, 2012

<< The Khamis Brigade Shed Massacre

This post will discuss the evidence that the Khamis Brigade shed was primarily a morgue and not a prison.

The fact that a number of bodies are discovered inside building is prima face evidence of a morgue, not of murder. For the site to be a massacre site there would have to be other physical evidence of violence used to kill the people at the site; weapons, bullets, shrapnel, shell casings, a bloody knife or some visible sign of struggle. None of this is present at the shed. All the evidence of a "massacre" consist of testimony of self claimed "survivors."

Apart from the claimed massacre victims there are other sources that could account for the under 50 bodies in the morgue. Libya was in a civil war with the estimates of people killed ranging from 50 to 100 thousand. The Khamis Brigade base saw a fierce battle sometime between August 23rd and August 26th, with a stated number of around 50 loyalist dead. None of these bodies have ever been located or identified. In the area around Khamis Brigade base the CIWCL can count around 30 unidentified bodies, almost exclusively Black, most likely victims of the ongoing persecution of Libya's African migrant workers.

The shed does not have doors that could be locked to hold in prisoners. There is no running water or sewage. There is trash at the site, including empty water bottles, but not the amount that could sustain a larger number of people for any extended period of time. The shed is perfectly suited for storing bodies, but not live beings.

Inside the shed the bodies are not randomly ordered as one would expect from the results of a killing spree, but neatly placed in rows and along the walls. The larger cluster of bodies in front of the door is less organized, but instead of facing the door – as if shot while trying to get out – most of the bodies are facing inward, away from the door. (face down, feet toward door.)

An alleged guard "Laskhar" testified (most likely under torture) that after he and his fellow guards had massacred the prisoners they carried out the bodies and later carried them back in to be burned. Any part of this testimony could be untrue; the killing part more likely then the "carrying in the bodies" part. Even if the story was 100% accurate, it would still rule out any possibility that the bodies in the shed could provide physical evidence of a massacre happening there.

The compound holds three refrigerated spaces that could be used for storing bodies. All three can be identified from the August 20th satellite image of the site, but except for the smallest one are missing from the July 26th image. The most notable is the large 40 foot shipping container in white Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) livery right by the gate. The white color indicates that it is a refrigerated container and not the standard container that comes in yellow.

In the row of trucks and vans parked against the low brick wall there are two refrigerated vehicles. In the shed end there is a Isuzu delivery wan with a white container identical to the one found on al Sarim Street in central Tripoli around August 24th, containing at least six bodies. At the other end there is a delivery truck in green livery with a blue logo containing the word  نجمة  – Star. The trademark possibly connects the truck to the al-Naseem dairy and ice cream factory in Misrata.

Among the four satellite images available through Google Earth from the period of the Libyan Civil War there are two cases that indicate possible loading or unloading of vans or hearses. In the May 14th satellite image there are up to seven vans and pickup trucks parked in a tight row in front of the shed, with their rear facing the shed, as if for loading or unloading of heavy items. The August 20th satellite image show what appears to be a flatbed pickup truck parked back-to-back with the "Star" refrigerated truck, again as if for loading something from the truck to the pickup or vice versa.