Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

US and NATO-supported Libyan "Rebels" Continue Persecution of Blacks in Libya
The Editors
07 Mar 2012
🖨️ Print Article

Video By RT

These are the so-called rebels and freedom fighters in Libya backed by the Obama administration and its secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

March 03, 2012 "RT" -- A shocking video has appeared on the Internet showing Libyan rebels torturing a group of black Africans. People with their hands bound are shown being locked in a zoo-like cage and allegedly forced to eat the old Libyan flag.

­“Eat the flag, you dog. Patience you dog, patience. God is Great,” screams a voice off-camera in the video uploaded to YouTube last week, which also made its way onto LiveLeak.com.

The torturers are also shown making the group of captive black Africans stand up with pieces of green cloth still in their mouths and apparently forcing them start jumping.  

A number of people are shown standing outside the cage watching the atrocity.  

After Muammar Gaddafi was killed, hundreds of migrant workers from neighboring states were imprisoned by fighters allied to the new interim authorities.
 

They accuse the black Africans of having been mercenaries for the late ruler.  

In the course of the fighting to topple Gaddafi last year, sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees “became targets of stigma, discrimination and violence,” the human rights group Amnesty International said last month.

“At the beginning of the crisis, there was vastly exaggerated propaganda for which the highest level of the National Transitional Council should take some responsibility because they largely contributed to that unfounded propaganda,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty’s senior crisis response advisor.
Some of the black migrants managed to flee into neighboring Mali and Niger, but more than 5,000 were detained. They face mass execution, beatings, and revenge killings, according to an Al Jazeera report published back in September.

Before the Libyan uprising broke out, the country hosted about a million black African workers, many of them employed in domestic work, construction, trash collection and other low-wage jobs.

Human Rights Investigations (HRI) suspect Libyan rebels of ethnic cleansing of the black population of the country, particularly in the city of Tawergha.

Libya

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
US Seeks to Turn Eritrea Into “a Bulwark Against Iranian Influence”
29 April 2026
As the militarization of the Red Sea escalates, the US tries to enlist Eritrea in exchange for sanctions relief.
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Cuba, Venezuela and Regime Change
18 March 2026
Regime change is possible but not inevitable.
Essam Elkorghli
On the Assassination of Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi: Another Tale of Imperialist Treason
11 February 2026
The son of President Muammar Qaddaffi, Saif Qaddafi, has been assassinated by local forces, some of whom contributed to the destruction of a fl
Libyan "rebels
Essam Elkorghli
The de-Africanization and re-Europeanization of Libya: The Political Economy of NATO’s Legacy in Libya
13 March 2024
Anti-Black racism in Libya is stoked by the west to justify intervention and maintain dominance over the nation.
Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Essam Elkorghli
Reconciling with Libya’s History on the 13th Anniversary of NATO’s Regime Change: Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Matteo Capasso) - Book Review
21 February 2024
Essam Elkorghli reviews the book, Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya by Matteo Capasso, which discusses the history and p
Why Barack Obama Can't Shut Up
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Why Barack Obama Can't Shut Up
20 September 2023
Barack Obama devastated millions of people all over the world and speaks of his actions as if they were committed by someone else.
Libya’s disastrous flooding… Causes and hope?
Essam Elkorghli
Libya’s disastrous flooding… Causes and hope?
20 September 2023
The U.S./NATO destruction of the Libyan state in 2011 was followed unilateral coercive measures, sanctions, which rendered that nation unable t
Libya’s Attempt to Normalize Relations with the Zionist Entity is a Multilayered Treason
Essam Elkorghli
Libya’s Attempt to Normalize Relations with the Zionist Entity is a Multilayered Treason
06 September 2023
There are Arab governments going along with the U.S. push to normalize relations with Israel.
World Refugee Day Marked by 108 Million Being Displaced
Abayomi Azikiwe
World Refugee Day Marked by 108 Million Being Displaced
28 June 2023
The recent drownings of 500 refugees in the Mediterranean call attention to the displacement of millions of people as a result of imperial
Centering Imperialism in Libya: Implications for the African Continent
Essam Elkorghli
Centering Imperialism in Libya: Implications for the African Continent
31 May 2023
Libya exemplifies the terrorism inflicted upon African nations by US/NATO imperialism.

More Stories


  • Jake Johnston
    Where Does the Money Go? A Look at USAID Spending in Haiti
    12 Feb 2025
    The Trump administration is dismantling USAID, intending to absorb its mission into the State Department. USAID's engagement with Haiti demonstrates the insidious nature of the agency and how…
  • Judi Rever
    Paul Kagame’s Foray in Eastern Congo Leaves Thousands Dead and Sparks Fears of a Broader war
    12 Feb 2025
    Rwanda’s brutal assault on Goma has unleashed more agony for the Congolese, who are already traumatized by three decades of war.
  • Ramzy Baroud
    Politics or Empty Rhetoric? Examining Trump’s Call for Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza
    12 Feb 2025
    Donald Trump recently made several statements declaring his intent to commit a full-scale ethnic cleansing of Palestine's Gaza Strip. However, this idea, like many others, may be unfeasible and…
  • Black Agenda Radio
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio 2.7.2025
    07 Feb 2025
    This week, we speak to a journalist about the recent fires in Los Angeles County that destroyed the lives and homes of many, including a Black community located in Altadena. First, we get an update…
  • Congo protesters
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Turmoil in Congo Creates Public Dispute Between South Africa and Rwanda Presidents
    07 Feb 2025
    Maurice Carney is Executive Director of Friends of the Congo . He joins us from Washington to provide an update on the crisis in Congo. Since he last appeared on Black Agenda Radio the capital city…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us