Amnesty reports on Libya

A report released by Amnesty International says armed militias are "out of control" in Libya.

Amnesty said that its researchers had documented dozens of cases of militias committing war crimes, torturing detainees and forcing whole communities to flee their homes.

It says the abuses are largely being committed against people suspected of being loyalists of slain leader Muammar Gaddafi.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CARSTEN JUGERSEN, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL LIBYA REPORT CO-AUTHOR , SAYING:

"We have seen horrific images of people who have been tortured, people who have been abused, people who have been tortured very recently when we saw them, in some cases only hours before, in fact my colleague saw detainees being beaten in a courtyard of a prison. And people have shown us obvious traces of torture, being whipped or people have told us they have been subjected to shocks, people have been beaten by all sorts of objects."

Amnesty says it believes there are some 2,500 people in detention under the control of the interim government.

But there are also thousands held in militia-run detention centres, who they have little authority over.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CARSTEN JUGERSEN, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL LIBYA REPORT CO-AUTHOR , SAYING:

"The militias act fairly independently of the central authorities. And they have a network throughout the country. Some militias cooperate closely but there has also been infighting. There are fears that this could escalate and the situation in Libya could deteriorate much more."

The militias spearheaded the rebellion that ended Gaddafi's 42-year rule but they have so far refused to disband.

Sophia Soo, Reuters.