Libya: Amnesty accuses both sides of war crimes

Both sides in the war in Libya have been accused of war crimes in a new report by Amnesty International.

The human rights watchdog said there were many damming examples of violations by Gaddafi's forces, but there were also serious abuses committed by the new regime.

The document says Libya's National Transitional Council must now initiate the human rights reforms that are urgently needed in Libya.

This report called 'The Battle for Libya -- Killings, Disappearances and Torture' is the most recent document to give detailed accounts of violations in Libya.

It says dozens of people suspected to be former security agents, Gaddafi loyalists or mercenaries have been abducted, detained, tortured and killed since February in eastern Libya.

Also, in the first days of the rising Amnesty found that soldiers who were captured or who surrendered were beaten to death, hanged or shot dead.

The report acknowledges that the alleged war crimes committed by the now governing opposition are of a "smaller scale" than those carried out by Gaddafi's regime but it says there is an unwillingness to hold people accountable for their actions.

The Transitional National Council has in some cases dismissed allegations of torture as an "understandable reaction" to heinous crimes by Gaddafi forces.

Amnesty is calling for all the alleged crimes to be investigated, and the perpetrators brought to justice.

The report says: "The new authorities must make a complete break with the abuses of the past four decades and set new standards by putting human rights at the centre of their agenda."