UN human rights chief condemns mass beheadings in Libya

The United Nations human rights chief on Tuesday condemned the killing of 21 people in Libya, deploring it as "a vile crime targeting people on the basis of their religion".

In a latest statement, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein denounced "the mass beheading of 20 Egyptian Coptic Christians and apparently another Christian man in Libya" and urged Libyans to unite against extremists launching attacks based on religious, ethnic, national, racial or political grounds.

"The brutal murder of these men, and the ghastly attempt to justify and glorify it in a video, should be roundly condemned by everyone," said Zeid in the statement, noting that "murdering captives or hostages is prohibited under international law and Islamic law".

The senior human rights official stressed that the Egyptian air force, in its airstrikes as a response for the killing, must ensure full respect of the principles of distinction between civilians and fighters, and civilians objects and military objectives.

Against the backdrop of increasing lawlessness amid the armed conflict in Libya, Zeid urged all parties in Libya to work towards a meaningful dialogue to bring to an end the current conflict, and in particular to engage constructively to advance an inclusive political process aimed at addressing Libya's daunting political and security challenges.

A video, released on Sunday evening, claimed to show the mass beheading of those Egyptians kidnapped in Libya, reports said.

The video was filmed in a style similar to that of previous videos depicting the murders of Western prisoners by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an armed group that overran large parts of Iraq and Syria last year, said the reports.

At least 40 suspected Islamic State (IS) militants in Libya were killed early Monday in Egyptian airstrikes in revenge for the killing, according to Egyptian state-run Nile TV. Enditem