Libya: several migrants killed by the guards of a detention center

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Six migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were shot dead by Libyan guards at a detention center in Tripoli, according to the office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Local media reported that hundreds of migrants had escaped from the overcrowded center.

Libyan guards on Friday (October 8th) shot dead six African migrants in a detention center in Tripoli, said the International Organization for Migration (IOM), denouncing “terrible” living conditions in this overcrowded place.

Libyan media reported, with video support, that hundreds of migrants had escaped from the center without reporting deadly shootings in the complex.

“It’s linked to the overcrowding of migrants”

The incident took place in the Al-Mabani detention center where some 3,000 migrants are held, said IOM official Federico Soda. “Six migrants in total were killed by the guards.” “We do not know what caused the incident, but it is in connection with the overcrowding of migrants who live in terrible and tense conditions,” he added. “Many migrants escaped during the chaos.”

According to Federico Soda, the Al-Mabani detention center has a capacity of 1,000 detainees, but more than 3,000 are crowded there, about 2,000 of them outside the main building, but within the perimeter of the complex. “Their detention is arbitrary. Many of them have their papers in order but are stranded in the country,” he said.

Libya is an important crossing point for tens of thousands of migrants, mostly from Saharan African countries, seeking each year to reach Europe via the Italian coasts, some 300 km away from the Libyan sides.

Several NGOs and UN agencies regularly denounce the deplorable conditions in detention centers in Libya, where smugglers and traffickers have benefited over the past ten years from the climate of instability that followed the 2011 revolt, making Libya the hub of trafficking. human beings on the continent.

“War crimes” and “crimes against humanity” committed in Libya

In early October, an “anti-drug” operation carried out by the Libyan authorities in a suburb of Tripoli, which mainly targeted irregular migrants, left one dead and at least fifteen injured, according to the United Nations Support Mission. in Libya (Manul). At least 5,000 people, including women and children, have been arrested, according to Médecins sans frontières (MSF).

On Monday, a UN expert fact-finding mission released a report denouncing “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” committed in Libya since 2016, in particular against migrants.

Migrants are subjected to all kinds of violence “in detention centers and by traffickers”, according to the text. “Our survey shows that attacks against migrants are committed on a large scale by state and non-state actors, with a high degree of organization and with the encouragement of the state – all aspects which suggest that ‘these are crimes against humanity.

More and more deaths in the Mediterranean

Many tragedies of illegal immigration have occurred from Libya. The latest date is Tuesday when the lifeless bodies of 17 migrants were discovered on the Libyan west coast after their boat sank.

The number of migrants who died at sea trying to reach Europe has more than doubled this year compared to the same period in 2020, according to IOM figures released in July. In September, IOM counted 1,369 migrants who had drowned in the Mediterranean since the start of the year.

Libya is trying to turn the page on a decade of chaos since the fall of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi killed in a popular revolt. Overcoming the years of conflict, a transitional government was installed in March, under the auspices of the UN, to lead the country to elections scheduled for December and January, but which remain hypothetical due to the persistence of divisions. .

With AFP