Libya: dozens of migrants shot dead by traffickers

Migrants are seen in a detention center in Zawiyah, 45 kilometers west of the Libyan capital Tripoli, on June 17, 2017. Taha JAWASHI / AFP

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A human trafficker was killed in an illegal immigration detention center in the city of Mizdah, located more than 150 km southwest of Tripoli, near Zintane. The family of this trafficker and his supporters took revenge by killing more than 30 migrants, the majority of them from Bangladesh.

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The facts took place on Wednesday May 27 around 11 p.m. Reportedly, it was a disagreement that took place between the trafficker and the migrants at the time of their embarkation. The trafficker known for his activities killed one of these migrants when they immediately responded by killing him.

But the drama does not stop there. Arriving at the scene, his relatives in retaliation killed twenty-six Bengalis and four Africans, that is, all those who refused to leave the warehouse. They injured eleven others, five of whom are in serious condition, according to a hospital source.

Following this massacre, the government of national unity (GNA) promises in a statement to punish the criminals involved.

Doing justice for yourself or perpetrating acts of revenge, these two practices are commonplace in post-Gaddafi Libya, plunged into chaos.

► Read also: Libya: a reversal of the military situation at the heart of the civil war

As for the World Organization for Migration (IOM), it deplores " this senseless crime which recalls the horrors endured by migrants who find themselves in the hands of smugglers in Libya ". IOM calls on the Libyan authorities to immediately open an investigation to bring those responsible for the massacre to justice.

Thousands of migrants regularly travel to Libya to attempt a crossing from the Mediterranean to Europe. In addition to the African industries that cross the desert, other industries coexist. Asian migrants fly to Libya.

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  • Libya
  • International Migration

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