Thaindian News

Tripoli, Apr 26 (ANI): Fuelled by Viagra, the forces of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, are reportedly using rape as a weapon of war against rebels, including children as young as eight years.

The Daily Mail quoted aid workers as describing how Gaddafi’s forces are carrying out widespread sexual abuse, including an incident in which a group of girls was abducted and held hostage for four days.

Some of these children were too traumatised to speak about the incident after their release, while others said they were being forced to watch as their fathers were murdered and their mothers raped.

Harrowing stories of sexual assaults against women and children have emerged from those who have fled the besieged cities of Misrata, Ajdabia and Rus-Lanuf.

Michael Mahrt, child protection adviser of Save The Children, said the reports of sexual violence against children are unconfirmed but they are ‘consistent and were repeated across the four camps we visited’.

“Children told us they have witnessed horrendous scenes. Some said they saw their fathers murdered and mothers raped. They described things happening to other children but they may have actually happened to them and they are just too upset to talk about it - it’s a typical coping mechanism used by children who have suffered such abuse,” the paper quoted her, as saying.

“What is most worrying is that we have only been able to speak to a limited number of children - what else is happening to those who are trapped in Misrata and other parts of the country who do not have a voice?” Mahrt said.

Earlier, 28-year-old Iman al-Obeidi had claimed that she was assaulted for two days by 15 men after being abducted at a checkpoint. She was arrested after trying to tell her story to foreign journalists and has subsequently been charged with slander. (ANI)