AA / Tripoli
A Libyan human rights activist on Saturday revealed the deaths of 15 illegal immigrants at the hands of “outlaws” in the western Libyan town of Sabratha.
The head of the (independent) Libyan National Human Rights Committee, Ahmed Hamza, told Anadolu Agency: “We have followed with concern the murder of 15 asylum seekers and illegal migrants of different nationalities.”
The activist added that “The victims were killed by a group of outlaws who engaged in migrant smuggling and human trafficking in Sabratha.”
According to Ahmed Hamza, the smugglers opened fire on the migrants’ boat as it sailed near the coast of the city on Friday evening, “which caused their death, before they (the smugglers) put set fire to the boat, charring most of the bodies”.
Hamza said the crime occurred “following a dispute that arose between smugglers”.
The Libyan human rights defender held the countries of the European Union “legally and humanly responsible for this crime and other crimes committed once morest migrants and asylum seekers in Libya”.
He said this was “due to their policies (of European countries) once morest migrants and asylum seekers, which support operations to intercept and push back migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, to forcibly return them to Libya and to keep them there despite the security risks and challenges”.
There was no comment from the Libyan authorities on this matter until 12:50 GMT.
Libya, which is a country bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, is a crossing point for illegal migrants to Europe, who risk crossing to seek a better life and to escape wars, unrest and deteriorating conditions. economy in their countries.
Accommodation centers in Libya are saturated with migrants who suffer from poor humanitarian conditions, report international organizations, which have more than once accused local Libyan militias of human trafficking.
The number of irregular migrants in Libyan accommodation centers is around 700,000 people, according to figures announced by Libyan Interior Minister Khaled Mazen at the end of 2021.
* Translated from Arabic by Mounir Bennour.
Only part of the dispatches, which Anadolu Agency broadcasts to its subscribers via the Internal Broadcasting System (HAS), is broadcast on the AA website, in a summarized manner. Please contact us to subscribe.
