A video has emerged apparently showing Libyan children enacting a mass execution, resembling those carried out by Islamic State, with one child shooting kneeling “prisoners” in the head with a toy gun.

The disturbing footage is said to have been filmed in the city of Benghazi, with an RT Arabic team confirming the children are speaking with a Libyan accent.

One child is filmed talking to the camera while walking past a group of “prisoners,” who are kneeling and holding their hands on their heads. The “executioner” then takes a toy gun and “shoots” each of the youngsters from behind. The “prisoners” then fall to the ground, playing their roles, while the “executioner” shoots them again multiple times.

The scene strikingly resembles the gruesome mass public executions held by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorists on a regular basis. It can also be that the children in the video are reenacting executions carried out by Libyan field commander Mahmoud Al-Werfalli.

Al-Werfalli, a commander with the Libyan special forces (commonly known as Al-Saiqa) has been filmed on several occasions either executing prisoners himself or ordering his men to do so. The authenticity of the videos appears to be beyond doubt, since Al-Saiqa itself has posted disturbing footage on its social media accounts.

Read more

The militant was charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) with war crimes in 2017 and subsequently arrested by the Libyan National Army (LNA). The commander, however, appeared in a new execution video in late January, shooting 10 blindfolded men in blue jumpsuits in front of a mosque in Benghazi, which was earlier targeted by suicide bombers.

Following the emergence of the latest video of Al-Werfalli, the UN Support Mission in Libya demanded the immediate extradition of the controversial commander. In response, Al-Werfalli said on Wednesday that he would surrender to the LNA military police to be questioned by ICC. The commander has apparently already turned himself in, according to Anadolu Agency, citing an unnamed official.

Libya has remained in turmoil since 2011, when a NATO-backed rebellion resulted in the gruesome murder of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi. The country has effectively fractured, with the two main groups claiming to be Libya’s government struggling for control, as well as smaller independent militias pursuing their own goals.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!