Report: Gadhafi Forces on Viagra-Fueled Rape Spree

Libyan forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi are on a Viagra-fueled rape spree, attacking girls as young as 8 in front of their families, according to Britain’s Daily Mail. Some children have been forced to watch as their fathers are murdered and their mothers assaulted, the paper reports.

The horrific scenes are playing out in the besieged town of Misrata, which has changed hands between Gadhafi’s forces and the rebels several times. Similar reports have come out of Ajdabia and Rus-Lanuf.

“'The reports of sexual violence against children are unconfirmed but they are consistent and were repeated across the four camps we visited,” said Michael Mahrt of the charity Save The Children, which is working in the north African country.

“Children told us they have witnessed horrendous scenes,” the Daily Mail quoted Mahrt as saying. “What is most worrying is that we have only been able to speak to a limited number of children — what else is happening to those who are trapped in Misrata and other parts of the country who do not have a voice?”

As the battle for Libya plods on, there have been numerous reports of Gadhafi’s forces using rape as a weapon of war. The soldiers reportedly have been given Viagra, according to the Mail.

But rape is heavily stigmatized in the conservative Muslim society so many women have kept quiet about their ordeal, reports the Mail.

Misrata-based rebel spokesman Abdelbaset Abumzirig told the paper that Gadhafi’s forces have orders to rape “because this means they are insulting Misrata itself.” Some women have spoken to human rights organizations, but others have kept quiet, he said.

German-trained doctor Khalifa al-Sharkassi said he knew of two sisters who had been raped repeatedly while their mother was locked in another room in the house. He also reported that victims were tying to clean themselves with bleach and injecting chlorine in a bid to prevent pregnancy.