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July 28, 2020 Two Sudanese migrants have been killed, and five more injured, by gunshots fired by the Libyan coastguard last night in Khums, east of Tripoli. The accident occurred during the landing operations of migrants who had been intercepted at sea and brought back ashore by the Libyan coast guard. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported in a statement, citing the testimony of its staff who was present on the spot, according to which "the local authorities started shooting at the moment when some migrants, recently descended on the ground, they tried to escape. "The five injured migrants were taken to hospitals in the area, while most of the survivors of the accident were transferred to Libyan detention centers.
The IOM condemned the killing of the two migrants: "The sufferings suffered by migrants in Libya are intolerable", said Federico Soda, head of mission in Libya. "The use of excessive violence has once again caused meaningless deaths, in a context characterized by a lack of practical initiatives aimed at changing a system that is often unable to provide any type of protection".
The IOM has reiterated that Libya is not a safe haven and has again launched an appeal to the European Union and the international community to urgently take action to stop the returns to Libya of vulnerable people. "It is necessary to put in place an alternative system that allows people rescued or intercepted at sea to be brought to safe ports. It is also necessary that there is greater solidarity between the European States and the Mediterranean States that are in the front line. "reads a statement.