The 34 bodies exhumed from a mass grave in western Libya seemed to be those of men detained and killed by forces loyal to fugitive leader Moamer Gaddafi, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.
"The evidence strongly suggests the detainees were executed in early June, before the pro-Gaddafi forces fled from the area, in the Nafusa mountains," the New York-based group said in a statement, dpa reported.
The victims had been detained from or near their homes in the al-Qawalish region or at a major checkpoint in the area, HRW said.
The grave contained evidence that suggested Gaddafi loyalists "carried out mass executions of detainees as they struggled to suppress the uprising," said Peter Bouckaert, HRW emergencies director.
"These victims included some very old men, some executed together with their sons," he added.
HRW said the bodies were blindfolded with the hands tied. The discovery of bullet casings at the site suggested that the captors shot the men before burying them in a shallow common grave.
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