Amnesty International: Militias ruling Libya

Armed militias now rule much of Libya, Amnesty International have said.

The human rights body has accused them of torturing detainees deemed loyal to the ousted regime of Muammar Gaddafi and driving entire neighbourhoods and towns into exile.

In a report, the London-based organisation quoted detainees as saying they had been suspended in contorted positions, beaten for hours with whips, cables, plastic hoses, metal chains and bars, and wooden sticks and given electric shocks with live wires and Taser-like electroshock weapons.

At least 12 detainees had died since September after torture, Amnesty added.

The report is a fresh blow to Libya's new government, the National Transitional Council, which helped lead the anti-Gaddafi uprising that broke out a year ago this week and spiralled into a brutal, eight-month civil war.