A/HRC/17/44 undermining the territorial integrity of a State. Under the Convention for the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa, the definition of mercenaries is narrower: it is restricted to the armed conflict situation (art. 1), and has a further restriction in defining the crime of mercenarism as committed “by the individual, group or association, representative of a State and the State itself who with the aim of opposing by armed violence a process of selfdetermination stability or the territorial integrity of another State” that practises specific acts (art. 1, para. 2). 3. Factual findings 183. The Commission received confirmation from the Government of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya that before the conflict, foreign military personnel were present in Libya through bilateral military cooperation arrangements with other countries, particularly in the area of air-force training. It has also received numerous accounts which indicate the participation of foreign fighters in the conflict, mostly on the side of Government forces. 184. In areas under the control of the opposition forces, the Commission found that the term “mercenaries” was most commonly used to connote persons with dark skin who had taken part either in the conflict, or in actions suppressing the demonstrations. Witnesses spoke of mercenaries as coming from sub-Saharan countries and referred both to the skin colour and inability to speak Arabic. In a minority of cases, it was suggested that some fighters had come from Eastern European countries. 185. In Benghazi, the Commission was provided documents by the Office of the Prosecutor containing some transcripts of interrogations of alleged mercenaries who had not yet been brought to trial According to the transcripts of interviews with one individual of Libyan nationality, “mercenaries” were used as snipers firing at demonstrators on 17 February. The transcript of another individual, a Nigerian-born Libyan disclosed that he was member of Khamis Katiba, and was transported on 2 March to Ras Lanuf military base. He stated that a military officer provided him with a military uniform as well as a rocket-propelled grenade weapon. Documents collected by the Prosecutor‟s Office from those questioned concerning involvement in events included some 24 photocopies of passports from four sub-Saharan countries. 186. The Commission visited a detention centre in Benghazi where some of the detainees were said to have been arrested during hostilities, while others had allegedly carried out missions in support of the Governmental forces. The majority of the 21 detainees were Libyan nationals. Only three were foreign nationals: one Syrian, one Algerian and one Ghanaian. However, the Commission was not able to verify further the background of these foreign nationals. Two of the foreign nationals interviewed denied any involvement with the security forces: One referred to instead having been a worker at a construction firm in Benghazi for several years. 187. Sixteen of the interviews conducted by the Commission included explicit reference to the use of mercenaries; in particular in Al-Bayda, Benghazi, Az-Zawiyah and Misrata. Doctors working at the Al-Bayda hospitals reported that out of 1,300 injured persons received by the hospital during the period 17 to 21 February, 26 were identified as “mercenaries”. The doctors reported receiving information from a colleague at the hospital that mercenaries had been paid 7,000 dinars each (found in their pockets) and that he had heard the mercenaries had come from African countries. One doctor told the Commission that some foreign identity cards had been collected from persons received at Al-Jalaa‟ hospital in Benghazi. 188. The Commission also received information from participants in demonstrations in Az-Zawiyah that they had seen “mercenaries” from bordering countries who carried foreign 53