Quote: Rebel leaders estimate that 60,000 opponents of the ousted dictator have been jailed since the insurgency began in February, but with most of Libya now rebel hands, only 11,000 have been freed. Mass executions of opposition forces are being uncovered on a daily basis, and human rights groups fear the total number of prisoners murdered by the retreating loyalists, already in the scores, could escalate sharply. Over the weekend the charred remains of at least 53 people were found in a warehouse where they appeared to have been executed by the Khamis Brigade, Libya's most feared military unit. A further 18 bodies were discovered decomposing in a nearby ditch by a Daily Telegraph reporter yesterday. Col Ahmed Omar Bani, a rebel military leader, said: "The number of people arrested over the past months is estimated at between 57,000 and 60,000. "Between 10,000 and 11,000 prisoners have been freed up until now ... so where are the others?" |