A British charity working with Libyan citizens fleeing the violence issued a harrowing report today of children as young as 8 being raped in the conflict, reports Reuters. The families involved are not even sure which side the assailants were on, according to aid group Save the Children. The group has been conducting interviews with hundreds of refugees who have reached camps in Benghazi after fleeing other cities.
"Children told us they have witnessed horrendous scenes," said a Save the Group official. "Some said they saw their fathers murdered and mothers raped. They described things happening to other children, but they may have actually happened to them and they are just too upset to talk about it—it's a typical coping mechanism." The reports were consistent among refugees at four separate camps, notes the Guardian. (More Libya stories.)