The graves of Black Watch soldiers from Fife could be among those damaged by Libyans who desecrated the final resting place of hundreds of British war dead.
A group of Libyans kicked over and smashed nearly 200 headstones and attacked a cross of remembrance with a sledgehammer at Benghazi War Cemetery last week.
They also damaged graves at Benghazi British Military Cemetery, just a mile away. An Italian cemetery was also targeted.
More than 1,000 servicemen are buried at Benghazi War Cemetery, including several Black Watch soldiers from Fife.
Corporal Thomas Brady (23), from Kirkcaldy, warrant officer James Pratt (26), from Anstruther, and Sergeant William Anderson (27), of Dunfermline, were among 17 troops killed on December 13 1942 and buried in the cemetery.
Last year Libyan rebels were liberated with help from the RAF as they fought Colonel Gadaffi’s forces in the north. However, that recent history has not spared the war graves from desecration.
Libyans filmed themselves knocking over the headstones and posted the video online. The vandals do not cover their faces and can be hear referring to ”Christian dogs”.
They also targeted a Jewish headstone which featured the Star of David.
Rob Scott, chairman of the Fife branch of The Black Watch Association, said: ”It’s shocking. It wasn’t that long ago that we were helping them out and this is how we get repaid.
”We have people out there tending these graves but they are not soldiers. We just have to hope that people have the decency to leave the graves alone in the future.”
The Libyan authorities have detained several people in connection with the incident but it is not known what the motivation was for the attack although it is suspected it may be a reprisal after US troops burned copies of the Koran at a NATO base in Afghanistan.
Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) has condemned the incident.
In a statement on its website it stated: ”The NTC severely denounces such shameful acts and vows to find and prosecute the perpetrators according to Libyan law.”
A statement on the Commonwealth Graves Commission website said all of the graves would be repaired. A spokesman added that they do not yet have a list of which headstones had been damaged.