Evidance of mass execution at Gaddafi death site

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had new evidence that militias opposed to Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi executed 66 members of his convoy following his capture and killing last year.

In a report titled "Death of a Dictator: Bloody Vengeance in Sirte", the New York-based group detailed the final hours of Gaddafi's life and the circumstances under which he was killed in his home town in October 2011.

"The evidence suggests that opposition militias summarily executed at least 66 captured members of Gaddafi's convoy in Sirte," said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at the watchdog.

"Our findings call into question the assertion by Libyan authorities that Gaddafi was killed in crossfire, and not after his capture," Bouckaert added.

The evidence also indicates that opposition militias took Gaddafi's wounded son, Mutassim, from Sirte to the western town of Misrata and killed him there, reported the group.

Among the most powerful new evidence is a mobile phone video clip filmed by opposition militia members that shows a large group of captured convoy members in detention, being cursed at and abused, said the report.

The group said it had used hospital morgue photos to establish that at least 17 of the detainees visible in the phone video were later executed.

"These killings constitute the largest documented execution of detainees by anti-Gaddafi forces during the eight-month conflict in Libya," the report said.