Christian war graves desecrated in Libya

An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on March 3, 2012 perportedly shows broken headstones at the Benghazi War Cemetery and the Benghazi British Military Cemetery, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) said. AFP PHOTO/YOUTUBE

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Libya's leadership has apologised after armed men smashed the graves of British soldiers killed during World War Two, in acts of vandalism that appeared to be directed against non-Muslims.

Amateur video footage of the attacks, posted on video sharing site YouTube and social networking site Facebook, showed men casually kicking over headstones in a war cemetery and using sledge hammers to smash a metal and stone cross.

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One man can be heard saying: "This is a grave of a Christian" as he uprooted a stone headstone from the ground.

Another voice in the footage says of the people buried in the cemetery: "These are dogs."

The attacks happened in the eastern city of Benghazi, near where British and Commonwealth troops fought heavy battles against German and Italian forces during the 1939-45 war.

The BBC reported that the attacks? took place at the British Military Cemetery and the War Graves Cemetery.

Britain's Mail on Sunday newsapaper, which reported the attacks on its front page on Sunday, said many of the graves cemetery belong to members of Britain's 7th Armoured Division, known as the Desert Rats, who played?a crucial role in the battle for control of Libya and Egypt between 1941 and 1943.

It said the Commonwealth graves there included servicemen from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India.

The National Transitional Council (NTC), Libya's interim leadership since last year's uprising forced out Muammar Gaddafi, said it would pursue those responsible.

It also apologised for the desecration of Italian graves, although it was not clear where Italian graves had been damaged.

"The NTC apologises for the incident with the foreign graves, especially the British and Italian graves," the council said in a statement. "This action is not in keeping with Islam."

"The NTC will confront this matter and, in line with Libyan law, will pursue those people who committed this act. This action does not reflect Libyan public opinion because Islam calls for respect for other religions."

The NTC has close ties with Western countries after a NATO bombing campaign helped it to oust Gaddafi, and most ordinary Libyans feel no animosity towards the West.

However, a minority of hardline Islamists, who are opposed to any non-Muslim presence and in some cases have formed into heavily-armed militias, have gained ground since Gaddafi's 42-year rule ended last August. The government in Tripoli has struggled to assert its authority over these groups.

Salafists, followers of an ultra-purist interpretation of Islam, have already destroyed several tombs to Muslim holy men in Libya, which they consider to be idolatrous.

The footage posted on Facebook showed about two dozen men in a cemetery in daylight. Several carried Kalashnikov automatic rifles and were wearing the mismatched camouflage uniforms commonly seen on militia members.

In an unhurried and systematic way, they kicked over neatly-arranged rows of headstones. "We will start with this and then carry on," says one voice on the recording. At one point, the person filming the footage also took his boot to a headstone.

Another group had placed a ladder against the large stone and metal cross overlooking the cemetery, and was smashing it with hammers. Several onlookers milled around the cemetery but no one was seen on the footage trying to intervene.

At one point, a voice on the recording says: "Come and see the incription on this ... There is Hebrew writing on it."

In a statement on its website, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission said the cemeteries would be "restored to a standard befitting the sacrifice of those commemorated at Benghazi".

"We will also need to be sure that it's safe for the detailed work to be carried out, but in the meantime we will ensure that temporary markers are erected over the graves," the statement added.

Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/04/10574002-christian-war-graves-desecrated-in-libya

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