A search for a better life has turned into a nightmare for hundreds of young Egyptian migrants who have disappeared inside detention centres in Libya controlled by armed militias. Their families, left in anguish, are desperately seeking any sign of life — hoping for just one phone call to confirm their loved ones are still alive, according to the InfoMigrants news website.
Multiple UN reports highlight the growing military grip over Libyan state institutions, where detention facilities have become tools of extortion and exploitation. Thousands of migrants face the risk of enforced disappearance, torture, rape, and other abuses in the absence of legal oversight.
Egyptian migrants, like many others, are trapped in this cycle of abuse. The families of hundreds of missing Egyptians live in constant fear, waiting for news months or even years after their disappearance. Lawyer Hassan (a pseudonym) told InfoMigrants he represents 37 missing Egyptians who have been held for years by militias or by the Department for Combating Illegal Migration. He filed a complaint with the Libyan Human Rights Council, but noted the body lacks authority to inspect these secret prisons.
Human rights organisations have documented numerous cases of enforced disappearance among Egyptian migrants in Libya. The Egyptian Network for Human Rights confirmed long-term detentions without legal procedures, calling for immediate international action to stop the abuses.
Families recount harrowing stories. Manar, sister of 22-year-old Ihab Ali, said he vanished after travelling from Alexandria before the Derna floods. “We later saw a video of him in a detention centre,” she said. “My mother just wants to hear his voice again.”
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates between 4,000 and 10,000 migrants are detained in militia-run or government-affiliated centres under inhumane conditions. Reports of torture, sexual violence, and forced labour persist as Libya remains a key hub for human trafficking across the Mediterranean.