HRW urges Libyan govt to protect civilians from Sirte

Human Rights Watch on Saturday urged the Libyan government to protect civilians who were detained after fleeing former Islamic State group stronghold Sirte.

"Libyan authorities should ensure the safety of and urgently provide medical care for more than 120 women and children being held in a Misrata prison" on suspicion of jihadist links, it said.

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Forces allied with Libya's unity government said on December 5 that they had ousted IS from the coastal city, 450 kilometres east of Tripoli, after seven months of fighting.

The jihadists had seized Sirte, the hometown of slain dictator Moamer Gaddafi, in June 2015 amid the chaos following Gaddafi's downfall in 2011.