A/HRC/19/68 injuries. The nature of the injuries indicated an intention to kill; the level of violence suggests a central policy of violent repression. These actions are in breach of international human rights law as an arbitrary deprivation of life. B. Unlawful killings6 1. Introduction 23. In the second phase of its work, the Commission concentrated on the larger-scale executions by Qadhafi forces, but was aware that many individual killings also occurred. 2. Qadhafi forces 24. On 6 June 2011, 18 detainees died in Al Khums of suffocation from being held by Qadhafi forces in poorly ventilated metal containers in rising temperatures. Seventeen people died inside the containers, while another subsequently died in hospital. The Commission was able to corroborate much of the testimony of survivors through physical evidence at the site. It also interviewed one of the guards present at the time. 25. In Al Qalaa, a number of detainees were tortured at a boy scouts camp used by Qadhafi forces as a military base and detention centre. Following the retreat of Qadhafi forces in July 2011, footage reportedly taken with a soldier’s telephone showed bodies in a mass grave behind the base. Witnesses, together with the local prosecutor, uncovered the bodies of 34 men and boys, blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their back. Three other bodies were lying nearby. The Commission interviewed witnesses who had participated in the exhumation and identification of bodies, as well as with former detainees at the camp who had been released prior to the executions. The Commission also visited the site. Rifle cartridge cases remained at the scene, together with some skeletal remains. 26. An informal detention centre was established in a warehouse adjacent to the base of the 32nd Brigade in Yarmouk, Tripoli. According to testimony received, torture and illtreatment of detainees were routine practices there. On 23 August 2011, as Tripoli fell, guards threw grenades into the warehouse and then began to fire through the door, killing dozens. As the prisoners were packed tightly, however, some survived and managed to escape. Two days later, the guards burned the bodies of those killed. Of the 157 detainees, only 51 survivors were confirmed. The Commission interviewed survivors and two of the guards, who admitted direct or indirect involvement. The testimony was broadly consistent and corroborative. The Commission’s forensic pathologist identified skeletal remains inside the warehouse. Other forensic evidence remaining at the site was considerable and closely supported the testimony. Six detainees, including three medical doctors, were shot a day earlier in a second warehouse, a few hundred metres away. Three of the six died. 27. Gargur, in Tripoli, was the site of another unofficial detention centre. Locals referred to the building as the former “green security building”. Witnesses and survivors told the Commission that, on 23 August 2011, guards opened fire on the detainees. A total of 21 people were shot and killed. 28. Further evidence of executions carried out by Qadhafi forces was found in Bab Al Aziziyah. On 23 August 2011, a witness described how he had helped gather 15 bodies, all men in civilian clothes and all handcuffed. The Commission interviewed two witnesses who had reportedly seen three medical personnel taken from an ambulance and shot. The 6 See ibid., chap. III, sect. B. 7