New York, Oct 25 (IANS/AKI): At least 53 supporters of killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are believed to have been executed by anti-Gaddafi fighters, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.

The bodies of the Gaddafi supporters were found in the abandoned Mahari Hotel in Sirte, the New York-based organisation said in a statement on its website.

"We found 53 decomposing bodies, apparently Gaddafi supporters, at an abandoned hotel in Sirte, and some had their hands bound behind their backs when they were shot," said Peter Bouckaert, HRW emergencies director, who investigated the killings.

"This requires the immediate attention of the Libyan authorities to investigate what happened and hold accountable those responsible," he said.

"The bodies were clustered together, apparently where they had been killed, on the grass in the sea-view garden of the hotel," the HRW said, and called on Libyan authorities to investigate the deaths.