A rescue operation in southeastern Libya has successfully freed at least 107 migrants, including women and children, who had been held captive in the town of Kufra, a security force spokesperson reported on Tuesday. The operation highlights the critical human rights issues facing migrants in Libya, which serves as a major transit route for those seeking passage to Europe.
Walid Alorafi, the spokesperson for the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Benghazi, detailed the late-night raid in Kufra’s downtown area.
“During the operation, we discovered illegal migrants suffering from various abuses, including women, children, and elderly men, some displaying signs of torture and bullet wounds,” said Alorafi. The migrants, primarily from Somalia among other sub-Saharan countries, reported being detained for as long as seven months.
Following their rescue, the individuals were handed over to the illegal migration agency to complete necessary administrative procedures. The CID also circulated video footage depicting the destruction of the building where the migrants were held captive and showed some migrants with visible injuries.
Many of the rescued migrants are in very poor health, with some requiring immediate medical attention, as evidenced by footage of aid workers assisting them into ambulances.
Kufra, the site of the operation, is located approximately 1,712 kilometers (1,064 miles) from the Libyan capital, Tripoli. Libya has become a critical hub for migrants from conflict-ridden and impoverished regions, attempting the dangerous journey across the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean to reach Europe.
The rescue comes amidst ongoing concerns about the treatment of migrants in Libya. The country has experienced an influx of over 704,369 migrants from more than 43 nationalities, according to U.N. data collected in mid-2023.
Recent reports, including one from the International Organization for Migration, have highlighted the discovery of migrant bodies in mass graves and other human rights violations.
These incidents underscore the urgent need for comprehensive action by Libyan authorities, with support from regional and international communities, to protect migrants and improve their living conditions.
UN Special Envoy Abdullah Bathily, in a recent briefing to the Security Council, called for bolstered regional cooperation to ensure the protection of migrants and emphasized the “shocking treatment of migrants in arbitrary detention,” underscoring the need for immediate and sustained action to address these severe issues.
